Yahoo Finance Video
While broader markets rejoice over first-quarter 2024 gains, EV maker Tesla (TSLA) has had a rather dour year so far, the once tech stock favorite falling nearly 30% year-to-date. Pricing competition from Chinese automakers — particularly Xiaomi's (1810.HK) SU7 model — has placed further strain on the demand for Tesla vehicles in international markets. Oppenheimer Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst Colin Rusch — whose firm remains cautious on Tesla stock — comments on Tesla's seasonal and supply chain weaknesses. "One of the things that this company has been really great at is making ongoing cost optimization choices, so they have continued to drive costs out of other vehicles on an ongoing basis over a number of years," Rusch tells Yahoo Finance. "We think [if] they continue to do that, they've got some benefits from materials on the lithium side that are still yet to fully roll through. We think they're continuing to beat up their suppliers on components, and they continue to be in the Western world still the largest EV OEM [original equipment manufacturer]." For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Morning Brief. Editor's note: This article was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.