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.

Elon Musk's Tesla stock price has dropped by 54 percent since the start of the year, with sales in Europe and production in China falling.

The first place I would look for a clue from Tesla options is the weighted put-call ratio. That chart is shown below. There was a local minimum at an extremely low level last Dece

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.