Tesla shares close lower on Thursday, company sets new record for four-door sedans, testing Model S prototype

Tesla Inc (TSLA) said in a tweet earlier this week that it set a new record for the fastest four-door sedan at the renowned Laguna Seca race track in Monterey, California.

The lap was completed with a new prototype version of Tesla’s Model S sedan having three motors and a new “Plaid” powertrain.

Tesla shares closed lower for the fourth time in the past eleven trading sessions on NASDAQ on Thursday. The stock went down 0.50% ($1.23) to $245.87, after touching an intraday high at $253.47, or a price level not seen since July 24th ($266.07).

Shares of Tesla Inc have retreated 26.12% so far in 2019 compared with a 25.08% gain for the benchmark index, Nasdaq 100 (NDX).

In 2018, Tesla’s stock went up 6.89%, thus, it outperformed the Nasdaq 100, which registered a 1.04% loss.

“We lapped Laguna Seca @WeatherTechRcwy in 1:36.555 during advanced R&D testing of our Model S Plaid powertrain and chassis prototype (That’s a second faster than the record for a four-door sedan),” Tesla said in a post on Twitter.

The auto maker also shared a video displaying a driver forming a lap at the Laguna Seca track, with the maximum speed at one point being 129 miles per hour, while on the “corkscrew” stretches the demonstrated speed was lower. The name of the driver, however, remained undisclosed. In another tweet, the company just said: “A member of the Tesla development team (amateur driver).”

Analyst stock price forecast and recommendation

According to CNN Money, the 30 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Tesla Inc’s stock price, have a median target of $241.00, with a high estimate of $530.00 and a low estimate of $140.00. The median estimate represents a 1.98% downside compared to the closing price of $245.87 on September 12th.

The same media also reported that at least 10 out of 32 surveyed investment analysts had rated Tesla Inc’s stock as “Hold”, while other 10 – as “Buy”. On the other hand, 9 analysts had recommended selling the stock.