Tesla shares close higher on Friday, black people occupy only 4% of Tesla leadership roles in the US, report says

According to Tesla Inc’s first US diversity report, black employees occupy only 4% of the company’s US leadership roles and account for 10% of its total US workforce.

Tesla shares closed higher for a second consecutive trading session on NASDAQ on Friday. The stock went up 0.95% ($5.66) to $599.04. The latter also was the intraday high and a price level not seen since November 30th ($607.80).

Shares of Tesla Inc have risen 615.96% so far in 2020 compared with a 43.46% gain for the benchmark index, Nasdaq 100 (NDX).

In 2019, Tesla Inc’s stock went up 25.70%, thus, it underperformed the Nasdaq 100, which registered a 37.96% gain.

Women account for 17% of Tesla Inc’s leadership roles (such as directors and vice presidents) in the United States and 21% of its total workforce, the report showed.

Meanwhile, Asian, Black and Hispanic employees combined account for 33% of Tesla’s US leadership roles and 60% of its total workforce.

However, leadership positions represented a “very small cohort” (less than 0.4%) of Tesla’s workforce, the auto maker noted.

“We know that our numbers do not represent the deep talent pools of Black and African American talent that exist in the U.S at every level – from high-school graduates to professionals,” Tesla Inc said in the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Impact Report published last Friday.

“While women are historically underrepresented in the tech and automotive industries, we recognize we have work to do in this area,” the company said.

Analyst stock price forecast and recommendation

According to CNN Money, the 33 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Tesla Inc’s stock price, have a median target of $430.00, with a high estimate of $800.00 and a low estimate of $40.00. The median estimate represents a 28.22% downside compared to the closing price of $599.04 on December 4th.

The same media also reported that at least 13 out of 36 surveyed investment analysts had rated Tesla Inc’s stock as “Buy”, while 12 – as “Hold”. On the other hand, 8 analysts had recommended selling the stock.