Why Tesla Stock Fell Sharply on Thursday

Growth stocks like Tesla are still having trouble rebounding.

What happened

Shares of electric vehicle maker Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) fell on Thursday, declining as much as 7%.

The stock's decline is likely primarily due to a bearish day in the market for growth stocks.

So what

Many tech stocks slid sharply on Thursday. Highlighting a bearish day in the market for tech stocks is the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite's 3% decline as of this writing. Many growth stocks like Tesla fell even more.

Growth stocks have struggled to fully rebound after getting pounded in the second half of February and early March. Shares of these stocks seem to be taking a breather after big gains in 2020. Tesla stock is down 18% since mid-February. Its shares, however, are still well above 2021 lows below $600 in early March. But they're far from recovering to a high of more than $900.

A pullback in growth stocks has been largely attributed to rising 10-year Treasury yield rates. With improving return prospects in safer and alternative investments to equities, some investors may be pocketing gains from growth stocks and putting capital in bonds.

Now what

Tesla's stock and business have been on a roll recently.

The company reported 46% year-over-year revenue growth in the fourth quarter of 2020 and analysts, on average, expect even faster growth this year.

Despite the stock's pullback from highs earlier this year, shares are up 59% over the last six months and 682% over the past 12 months. The S&P 500 rose 18% and 57%, respectively, during those periods.