Tesla stock’s biggest bull is now pounding the table after December’s big rout

Long-time Morgan Stanley Tesla (TSLA) bull Adam Jonas really loved the stock 70% higher than it is today, so it’s unsurprising to see him doubling down on the tanking EV maker’s stock ahead of 2023.

After all, at this point, what else do you have to lose?

Jonas reiterated an outperform rating on Tesla shares in a note Thursday, lifting shares about 3.5% in premarket trading. The star analyst did slash his price target to $250 from $330, however, amid the major weakness in Tesla’s stock price this month. Jonas had previously cut his Tesla price target back in October.

The new price target still assumes Tesla shares could rise about 115% from current trading levels.

Jonas believes Tesla’s valuation, cash flow, innovation, and cost leadership are still worthy of an outperform rating — as is its competitive lead over rivals in EV production.

“Tesla may be in position to extend its lead vs. the EV competition,” Jonas said.

To be sure, the Tesla trade has gone badly against bulls like Jonas this year — especially in December.

The stock has plunged around 69% year to date — and 43% in the past month alone — amid demand concerns and CEO Elon Musk’s unpredictable leadership at Twitter.

The past two weeks have brought news Tesla will offer $7,500 discounts on Model 3 and Model Y vehicles delivered in the U.S. in December — an unexpected development that further pressured the stock price. Meanwhile, reports have surfaced that Tesla is running lean production at its key Shanghai plant.

Investors haven’t taken that news positively, either.

A number of analysts have downgraded the stock in recent days on fears of a sharp 2023 demand slowdown. Others, such as Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, continue to trim price targets on Tesla amid the stock’s precipitous fall.

“The reality is that after a Cinderella story demand environment since 2018, Tesla is facing some serious macro and company specific EV competitive headwinds into 2023 that are starting to emerge both in the US and China,” Ives said in a note this week.