Regular readers know that I'm wary of Elon Musk... The CEO of Tesla (TSLA), SpaceX, and xAI is the richest man in the world. According to Forbes, Musk's net worth is currently more than $700 billion.

This Automobile Stock Isn't About Its Car Sales Anymore By Ethan Goldman, junior analyst, Chaikin Analytics Regular readers know that I'm wary of Elon Musk... The CEO of Tesla (TSLA), SpaceX, and xAI is the richest man in the world. According to Forbes, Musk's net worth is currently more than $700 billion. This puts his wealth at more than two and a half times that of the next richest man – Larry Page. Musk has spent the past years building hype around his numerous projects. These include Optimus robots, self-driving "Robotaxis," and plans to build settlements on Mars. Meanwhile, his net worth has grown by more than 29 times since 2020. But there's one thing Musk does better than building his wealth... Generating both positive and negative publicity. Simply put, Musk is a polarizing figure. And it doesn't matter how you personally feel about him or his projects. It also doesn't matter how well his electric-vehicle ("EV") company Tesla actually performs... The stock grew by about 11% in 2025. And those same shares are up by about 84% over the past five years. Given this long-term performance, it would make sense that Tesla produces and sells more cars each year. But that's not the case... Recommended Links: Your 2026 Battle Plan Wall Street legend Marc Chaikin has just finished creating his 2026 battle plan – built on his own 50 years in the markets and his powerful Power Gauge system. On January 8, he will go LIVE to share it with the public for the first time. He also wants to draw your attention to an unsettling January "trigger" that could be just days away. Since 1950, it has predicted the year ahead with 100% accuracy. Save your free seat now. Executive Order 14318: The Most Important Document You've Never Read The mainstream media just missed the biggest financial story of the year... President Donald Trump signed an executive order to start unlocking an estimated $5.1 trillion in federal assets for the benefit of every American citizen. Most Americans have no idea this opportunity exists... But according to a former Trump adviser, it could trigger a historic "gold rush" for the American people. SEE WHAT THE MEDIA MISSED. A Chinese Rival EV Maker Overtook Tesla in 2025 In 2023, Tesla produced more than 1.8 million vehicles. The following year, production fell by more than 72,000 vehicles – or about 4%. This itself could be due to simply liquidating existing inventory. After all, Tesla delivered more vehicles than it produced in 2024. But last Friday, Tesla released its production numbers for 2025. And they aren't pretty, folks... Tesla produced nearly 119,000 fewer vehicles in 2025 than it did in 2024. It's a decline of roughly 7%. And if that wasn't bad enough for Tesla, the company lost its lead as the world's top EV maker to Chinese rival BYD. Tesla delivered more than 1.6 million vehicles in 2025. But BYD sold more than 2.2 million vehicles for the year. As I said, Tesla announced those 2025 production numbers on Friday. And by the end of the trading day, the stock had only fallen by less than 3%. A daily change like that isn't unusual for Tesla. The stock often plummets in value before gaining most of it back just as fast. As I noted earlier, Musk has an uncanny ability to sell his vision of the future to investors... And those folks often "buy into" Musk's vision by investing in his only publicly traded company. Now, the Power Gauge still isn't completely impressed with Tesla. You see, it balances the stock's continued fundamental weaknesses with its general upward trend in recent years... Our System Sees Tesla's 'Big Picture' Weakness The Power Gauge currently gives Tesla a "neutral" overall rating... As you can see, the Financials and Earnings categories are firmly "very bearish." But the Technicals and Experts categories are "very bullish" and "bullish," respectively. The first two categories deal with the company's long-term financial health. As I said, Tesla's sales volume has been declining. And the company's revenue growth has fallen sharply in recent years. In short, the Power Gauge is wary of Tesla's long-term investment potential right now. But the Technicals category paints a different picture... Simply put, technical factors are less concerned with a company's long-term overall health. These factors guide traders looking to buy and sell stocks on a shorter time horizon. And for Tesla, the Technicals category is currently "very bullish." To be clear, I'm not saying you should run to go trade shares of Tesla... Remember that the stock is prone to big swings – both to the upside and the downside. Over a shorter time frame, that means weighing the potential for big losses against the potential for big gains. Either way, your portfolio doesn't care if you agree with Musk personally... His comments beyond Tesla can still move the share price. And as Tesla's stock performance seems increasingly less connected with EV production and sales numbers, that means investors need to be mindful of what Musk says.   Good investing, Ethan Goldman   Editor's note: Right now, our founder Marc Chaikin is leveraging the Power Gauge for his next big stock prediction... As he says, a strange market signal with 100% accuracy since 1950 could soon blindside millions of investors. However, it could also give you the stock opportunity of a lifetime. That's why Marc is going on camera this Thursday, January 8, at 10 a.m. Eastern time to tell you how to prepare. Plus, just for tuning in to this event, you'll receive two free stock recommendations – one stock to buy... and another to avoid or sell immediately. Learn more and register to attend Marc's free event on Thursday morning right here. Market View Major Indexes and Notable Sectors     # Hld:     Bullish     Neutral     Bearish Dow 30 +1.27% 10 11 9 S&P 500 +0.67% 126 223 148 Nasdaq +0.79% 21 52 27 Small Caps +1.59% 624 925 343 Bonds +0.49% Energy +2.72% 5 12 5 — According to the Chaikin Power Bar, Small Cap stocks are somewhat more Bullish than Large Cap stocks. Major indexes are mixed. *  *  *  * Sector Tracker Sector movement over the last 5 days Energy +5.09% Industrials +1.9% Materials +1.84% Financial +1.46% Communication -0.12% Utilities -0.37% Consumer Discretionary -0.46% Real Estate -0.49% Health Care -0.49% Information Technology -0.86% Consumer Staples -1.19% *  *  *  * Industry Focus Health Care Services 27 18 15 Over the past 6 months, the Health Care Services subsector (XHS) has outperformed the S&P 500 by +3.68%. Its Power Bar ratio, which measures future potential, is Strong, with more Bullish than Bearish stocks. It is currently ranked #12 of 21 subsectors. Top Stocks CAH Cardinal Health, Inc EHAB Enhabit, Inc. MCK McKesson Corporation *  *  *  * Top Movers Gainers VLO +9.23% SLB +8.96% HAL +7.84% COIN +7.77% PSX +7.21% Losers JBL -7.05% CMCSA -4.77% ABBV -3.98% CPB -3.75% OMC -3.65% *  *  *  * Earnings Report Reporting Today Rating Before Open After Close Earnings Surprises No significant Earnings Surprises in the Russell 3000. *  *  *  * You have received this e-mail as part of your subscription to PowerFeed. If you no longer want to receive e-mails from PowerFeed, click here. You're receiving this e-mail at katzronnie7@gmail.com. For questions about your account or to speak with customer service, call +1 (877) 697-6783 (U.S.), 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Eastern time or e-mail info@chaikinanalytics.com. Please note: The law prohibits us from giving personalized financial advice. © 2026 Chaikin Analytics, LLC. All rights reserved. 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