Tesla's Stock Tumbles Into Bear Market Territory

Tesla Inc.'s stock had tumbled 6.3% by Thursday afternoon to a six-week low and has now dropped below the threshold that would mark the start of a new bear market. Many on Wall Street define a bear market as a decline of 20% or more from a bull-market peak. Tesla's stock is now down 20.1% from its June 23 record close of $383.45; closing at or below $306.76 would make that bull market official. This would be the first bear market in Tesla shares since the stock plunged as much as 22.7% from the July 29, 2016, peak of $234.79 to the Nov. 14, 2016, closing low of $181.45. The stock fell in the wake of disappointing safety test results from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety on Thursday, and downbeat deliveries data earlier in the week. Despite the selloff, the stock was still up 43.5% since the start of the yewar, while the S&P 500 has gained 7.9%.