Tesla bull says 'poor communication' is Elon Musk's biggest problem

Tesla is expected to post healthy sales growth this year. The company is finally starting to sell its ballyhooed Model 3 at an affordable price of $35,000. And Tesla also is about to launch a new Model Y crossover at an event in Los Angeles on Thursday. But none of that matters to Wall Street.

Posted 4:27 p.m. Mar 12, 2019 — Updated 4:27 p.m. Mar 12, 2019

Paul R. La Monica

, CNN Business

CNN — Tesla is expected to post healthy sales growth this year. The company is finally starting to sell its ballyhooed Model 3 at an affordable price of $35,000. And Tesla also is about to launch a new Model Y crossover at an event in Los Angeles on Thursday. But none of that matters to Wall Street.

Shares of Tesla are down 15% this year -- a time when the broader market is rallying and rival auto companies GM and Ford are both up more than 10%.

Ross Gerber, co-founder, president and CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management, thinks Tesla has been unfairly punished. His firm owns more than 40,000 shares of Tesla, a stake currently worth about $11 million.

Gerber is an unabashed Tesla bull. He said that the company is rapidly expanding its Gigafactories to build more batteries for its electric vehicles. He notes that Tesla's Model S and Model X get rave reviews from customers. And Gerber is optimistic about Tesla's plans to start making an electric pickup truck and a semi truck that has already received orders from Walmart.

But Gerber concedes that Tesla and CEO Elon Musk need to do a better job of getting its message across to Wall Street. Musk has often made lofty promises and committed to aggressive deadlines that the company hasn't been able to meet.

Then there's the issue with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which has cracked down on Musk for tweeting too much about Tesla.

The SEC accused Musk of violating an agreement with the agency following a recent tweet about production targets. Tesla has shot back, arguing that the SEC is trying to restrict Musk's right to free speech.

"Tesla's biggest issue is poor communication. They continue to lurch from announcement to announcement with lot of uncertainty," Gerber said in an email to CNN Business.

Gerber will be talking about Tesla and tech stocks with CNN correspondent Alison Kosik on the "Markets Now" live show Wednesday at 12:45 pm ET.

"Markets Now" streams live from the New York Stock Exchange every Wednesday at 12:45 p.m. ET. Hosted by CNN's business correspondents, the 15-minute program features incisive commentary from experts.

You can watch "Markets Now" at CNN.com/MarketsNow from your desk or on your phone or tablet. If you can't catch the show live, check out highlights online and through the Markets Now newsletter, delivered to your inbox every afternoon.

CNN Business' Molly Shiels contributed to this story

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