Tesla shares edged higher in early Friday trading, but have lost nearly have of their value since mid-December, and a top Wall Street analyst suggests there could be more declines ahead tied to weakness in the group's core automaking business.

Tesla backlash continues as the stock nosedives and Musk pushes conspiracy theories about protests and arsons at dealerships.

"It's become clear he's now spending more time on DOGE than anything else," said one analyst of Elon Musk.

Another analyst cut a target price for Tesla stock because car business fundamentals are “spoiling razzle-dazzle momentum.” The price target cuts are piling up. On Friday, Wells Fargo analyst Colin Langan cut his Tesla price target to $130 from $135.