Tesla stock, which dropped 19 percent right before the holiday weekend, regained most of it today, and is currently hovering just a couple points below Friday’s price.

Pass the car sickness bags! Tesla stock (Nasdaq: TSLA), which dropped 19 percent right before the holiday weekend, regained most of it today, and is currently hovering just a couple points below Friday’s price. CEO Elon Musk made a conference call to reassure investors this morning.

The big plunge occurred in response to news that two key Tesla executives had left the company, just months before their baby, the Model S, is to hit the showrooms. That does sound a little worrying, but the main positives for the company haven’t changed: it has a full order book for the Model S, and lucrative contracts to supply powertrains to Toyota and Smart.

As for Mr Musk, he’s “highly confident” that Tesla will meet the delivery date for the Model S in July, sell 20,000 cars next year, and post a gross margin of at least 25 percent. He said that news of the departures had been misrepresented as a negative development, and pointed out that as companies grow and mature, different people are suited for changing roles.

“Sorry for the roller coaster," he tweeted. “Will communicate better in the future. Too many people want us to fail and are willing to twist any bit of news against Tesla.”

Those of us who lived through the internet stock boom/bust of the 1990s remember this kind of press hype and roller coaster stock market moves very well.

Image: Tesla