Now Tesla is DUMPED by Europe’s biggest software firm as its company car – pushing shares of EV giant to 9-month low – after automaker is also snubbed by Hertz and Sixt

  • German software company SAP said it would no longer add Teslas to its fleet
  • Its fleet manager said the fluctuating value of the cars made them risky to hold
  • It comes just weeks after rental companies Sixt and Hertz also severed their ties 

Tesla shares plummeted to a nine-month low after Europe’s largest software company SAP said today it would no longer buy the cars for its staff.  

The German company joins car rental firms Hertz and Sixt in pulling back from purchases of Teslas. 

A key problem for all three firms has been Tesla slashing prices on new cars – hitting their resale value. Depreciation is typically the biggest risk for fleet managers.

The average value of a used Tesla fell by more than $1,000 in the first half of January, DailyMail.com revealed last month. 

Investment bank Piper Sandler also cut its Tesla stock price target today on lower delivery expectations for the year.

Tesla shares plummeted again to a nine month low after Europe’s largest software company revealed it would no longer buy its cars for employees. Pictured is a fleet of newly manufactured Tesla electric cars in 2020

Tesla's share price closed on Monday down almost 4 percent at just over $181 - its lowest value since May 2023

Tesla’s share price closed on Monday down almost 4 percent at just over $181 – its lowest value since May 2023

Tesla’s share price closed on Monday down almost 4 percent at just over $181 – its lowest value since May 2023. It wiped $24 billion in market cap off the world’s most valuable automaker.

Justifying its decision to ditch Teslas as a company car option for staff, the SAP fleet manager told German newspaper Handelsblatt that the list prices of its cars fluctuate more than those of other manufacturers, making them a risky asset to hold.

The price of second-hand Teslas has fallen dramatically in the last year as the company cut new vehicle prices in an attempt to claim a larger share of the market.

It comes just weeks after German rental giant Sixt also announced it would stop adding Teslas to its rental fleet, also pointing to how their fluctuating value was hurting its books.

Also in January, Hertz revealed in a company filing it would sell off tens of thousands of its electric cars in a ‘fire sale’. 

Meanwhile, Piper Sandler said it was expecting deliveries of 1.93 million vehicles this year, representing a growth rate of about 7 percent

That is well below the long-term annual target of 50 percent that Elon Musk set three years ago.

Musk said in January that high interest rates had increased monthly payments for Tesla’s cars, making them less affordable for consumers.

And on Friday US safety regulators upgraded their probe into Tesla vehicles over reports of loss of steering control and power steering failure.

SAP's fleet manager told German newspaper Handelsblatt that the fluctuating value of the cars made them risky to hold

SAP’s fleet manager told German newspaper Handelsblatt that the fluctuating value of the cars made them risky to hold

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in January that high interest rates had increased monthly payments, making Tesla cars less affordable for consumers

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in January that high interest rates had increased monthly payments, making Tesla cars less affordable for consumers

That has been viewed as a potential step towards the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration demanding a recall.

Tesla’s stock still trades at almost 60 times its 12-month forward earnings estimates – higher than most cmpanies.

By comparison, Meta’s valuation is 25 times higher, while Amazon is valued at just over 40 times is projected earnings.

Many investors are confident in Tesla’s current valuation due to its plans to expand into ‘robotaxis’, which could be lucrative should the company be able to clear the technical and bureaucratic hurdles required to make self-driving cars effective.

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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk