Price cut spree raises concerns Tesla (TSLA.US) market value evaporated $50 billion overnight

Shares of Tesla plunged nearly 10 percent on Thursday after the company's chief executive, Elon Musk, hinted that Tesla would continue to cut prices to boost demand even as margins took a hard hit. The leading electric car maker has lost more than $50 billion in market value, while concerns about an escalating price war have also hit shares of General Motors $General Motors(GM.US)$ , Volkswagen $VOLKSWAGEN A G(VWAGY.US)$ and other automakers.
On Thursday, Tesla's market capitalization stood at $517 billion, below Meta Platforms $Meta Platforms(META.US)$ for the first time since 2021.
Tesla has already cut prices six times this year, Musk said there will be more price cuts in the future, and said that in a weak economy, the company will put sales growth above profits.
Musk said, we think driving higher sales and a larger fleet is the right thing to do as opposed to lowering sales and improving margins.
According to Refinitiv, at least 15 analysts cut their price targets for Tesla after the company's earnings report, lowering the median price target of 42 analysts from $210 to $200, about 23 percent higher than the stock's current level.
From Europe to the U.S., investors have been selling off shares of automakers, fearing they too will sacrifice profit margins to maintain market share.
On Thursday, Ford Motor $Ford Motor(F.US)$ and General Motors $General Motors(GM.US)$ were both down about 3 percent, and Lucid Group $Lucid Group(LCID.US)$ was down about 7 percent.
So far this year, Tesla is still up 32%, far outpacing the S&P 500's 8% gain.