This Congressman Is Down 15% on His Recent Buy Tesla Trade

Congressman Mike Garcia, representing California's 25th congressional district, invested between $50,000 - $100,000 in Tesla (TSLA: US) shares in late September, according to a new filing.

The Congressman made the trade on September 29 when Tesla shares closed at $268.21. The electric vehicle (EV) maker is by far Garcia’s most popular stock for trading. The Congressman reported earlier this year two transactions involving Tesla shares. Both were on the buy side, worth $15,000 - $50,000 each.

However, with Tesla shares trading below $230 this week, it means Mr. Garcia is already 15% underwater on his most recent investment. The EV giant Tesla reported weaker-than-expected Q3 results earlier this month with high logistic costs and supply chain distress weighing on the company’s ability to deliver EV units.

Moreover, CEO Elon Musk is facing issues in ramping up new factories in Texas and Berlin. This prompted Tesla to deliver a lower-than-expected number of cars in the third quarter. As a result, Tesla said on the most recent earnings call that it won’t be able to meet its goal of increasing production by 50% compared to 2021.

An additional factor that is acting as an overhang on Tesla stock is Musk’s pending acquisition of Twitter for $44 billion. Investors are fearing that the billionaire will be forced to sell more Tesla shares in order to close the acquisition. The court-imposed deadline for Musk to close his Twitter buyout is set for the end of this week.

The fact that Congressman Garcia is often trading Tesla, as well as tech, shares is now a surprise given that he serves on the House Committee for Science, Sports, and Technology.