Why Tesla Stock Continued to Plunge Today

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) stock is on a major losing streak. After falling for eight straight weeks, it is starting off another week deep in the red. At 12:12 p.m. ET, shares were near the lows of the session, down by 5.8%.

The leading electric vehicle (EV) maker has now lost 50% of its value over the past three months. With all the negativity surrounding the name, investors might wonder if it's worth considering buying the dip.

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Analysts are piling on Tesla

Today's drop comes after one Tesla bull just cut his firm's price target by $85 per share. Mizuho's Vijay Rakesh is still taking a bullish stance, but his price target dropped from $515 to $430 per share, reports Barron's.

The new price target implies more than 80% upside after the stock's recent freefall. Rakesh still rates the stock a buy for that reason. The analyst noted the effects on the brand as CEO Elon Musk has immersed himself in politics and become a more polarizing figure.

Rakesh wrote, "We believe Tesla's sales woes are the result of a deterioration in geopolitics, brand perception (U.S./EU), share loss due to stronger competition (China), and softer-than-expected demand for the Model Y refresh."

Investors need to weigh those negatives against Tesla's long-term potential, though. It's hard to quantify how Musk's other activities are affecting the company's EV sales.

Tesla's potential catalysts

Musk likely isn't overly concerned with that, though. He has said that the company's full self-driving technology is where the real value lies. He famously said investors who don't believe Tesla will solve autonomous driving shouldn't own the stock. Tesla plans to finally launch its Cybercab on public streets this year.

Rakesh included some optimism on that front in his research note. "We continue to see [Tesla] as a leader in the EV [and self-driving] markets," he wrote. If it succeeds in becoming a leader in the autonomous vehicle sector, investors might want to consider buying the current dip.

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Howard Smith has positions in Tesla. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.