BofA/Merrill analyst John Murphy maintained an Underperform rating and $225 price target on Tesla shares after the company disclosed this morning that it will reduce its full-time employee headcount by 7% in order to reduce costs. Murphy previously said he believed Q3 was likely to mark peak profitability for Tesla for the near future, and he believes the data, including this morning's headcount reduction, backs up his thesis. He is also cautious due to challenges in the ongoing Model 3 production ramp, "very material" cash burn, and the prospect of new competition. In Friday morning trading, shares of Tesla are lower by more than 9.5% to $3314.12.

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Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists. 1... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here

Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.  1... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here

Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists. 1... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here

Notable profits for the buyer who lifted the $6.25 offer for 3,135 Tesla (TSLA) May-24 155 puts yesterday at 09:53ET when underlying shares were trading at $165.33. Shares closed at $161.48, and the puts at $7.84 for a mark-to-market profit of 25%, or $498K, on the $1959K outlay.

Tesla is focused on building a giant Texas datacenter for its robotaxi project, which is now a top priority, after postponing work on a cheaper vehicle, Electrek's Fred Lambert reports. The cheaper vehicle, codenamed NV9, sometimes referred to as Model 2, was expected to cost around $25,000, but Lambert writes that the program is "effectively scratched" right now as Tesla is putting all resources into its self-driving effort. Reference Link