Investor's Corner
Tesla Model 3 tsunami pushes Norway’s electric car sales to record levels
An announcement from the Norwegian Road Federation (NRF) has revealed that nearly 60% of all vehicles sold in Norway last month were all-electric, setting a new record for EV sales in the country. Behind this historic milestone is the arrival of a sedan that was designed to disrupt the auto industry: the Tesla Model 3.
Norway registered 10,316 electric vehicles in March, comprising 58.4% of all car sales in the month. This was the first time that EVs accounted for more than 50% of all auto sales in the country. The market share of all-electric cars in the first quarter was also the highest recorded at 48.4%.
What is rather remarkable about Norway’s EV sales record was that it was largely driven by the Tesla Model 3, which set a new benchmark for competing electric car makers by selling 5,315 vehicles in March. That’s far above the previous record held by the Nissan Leaf, which sold 2,172 units in one month last year.
More than 18,000 cars were registered in Norway on March, over 10,000 of which were electric vehicles. From this number, 5,822 were Tesla Model S, Model 3, and Model X. This means that in March, Tesla accounted for over 31% of Norway’s car sales, or one in every three vehicles. For a 15-year-old carmaker, such a feat is incredibly impressive.
Granted, Norway is but a small country, and its sales will likely pale in comparison to the numbers that will be produced by territories like China. Nevertheless, Tesla’s Model 3-driven milestone carries a lot of significance, as it all but proves that demand for the electric sedan is significant in territories beyond the United States.
Among the most prominent bear thesis against Tesla this first quarter was the assumption that demand for its vehicles has weakened significantly. Last week alone, RBC analyst Joseph Spak reduced his price target on Tesla stock (NASDAQ:TSLA) by $35 to $210 over what be cited as “meager demand” for the Model 3. Norway’s March figures are a direct rebuttal of this assumption, as it shows that it is far too early to discount the demand for the Model 3, at least until the vehicle gets a chance to compete in the international market.
Norway’s EV sales records in March also proved that it is possible to quickly and aggressively adopt electric transportation. Secretary-General Christina Bu of the Norwegian EV Association highlighted this point in a statement to news agency Elbil.no.
“Norway has every reason to be proud of breaking more BEV records. The BEV policy is working so well that the larger part of consumers opts for a BEV when buying a new car. Norway shows the whole world that fully electric cars can replace petrol and diesel cars and become an important contribution to combat CO2 emissions, as well as relieving local air from other harmful gases caused by burning fossil fuels,” Bu said.
Norway’s milestone is a victory for Tesla, whose parimary mission as frequently noted by Elon Musk is to accelerate the transition of the world to sustainable energy. Encouraging the transportation sector to adopt electric cars is a valuable component of this goal, and with Norway’s March sales numbers, the country and the carmaker have proved such a goal is not too far-fetched. All it takes is open support for EVs and an electric car that is better than its gasoline counterparts in every way.
Tesla bear Michael Burry got blunt with his beliefs over the company’s valuation, which he called “ridiculously overvalued” in a newsletter to subscribers this past weekend.
“Tesla’s market capitalization is ridiculously overvalued today and has been for a good long time,” Burry, who was the inspiration for the movie The Big Short, and was portrayed by Christian Bale.
Burry went on to say, “As an aside, the Elon cult was all-in on electric cars until competition showed up, then all-in on autonomous driving until competition showed up, and now is all-in on robots — until competition shows up.”
Tesla bear Michael Burry ditches bet against $TSLA, says ‘media inflated’ the situation
For a long time, Burry has been skeptical of Tesla, its stock, and its CEO, Elon Musk, even placing a $530 million bet against shares several years ago. Eventually, Burry’s short position extended to other supporters of the company, including ARK Invest.
Tesla has long drawn skepticism from investors and more traditional analysts, who believe its valuation is overblown. However, the company is not traded as a traditional stock, something that other Wall Street firms have recognized.
While many believe the company has some serious pull as an automaker, an identity that helped it reach the valuation it has, Tesla has more than transformed into a robotics, AI, and self-driving play, pulling itself into the realm of some of the most recognizable stocks in tech.
Burry’s Scion Asset Management has put its money where its mouth is against Tesla stock on several occasions, but the firm has not yielded positive results, as shares have increased in value since 2020 by over 115 percent. The firm closed in May.
In 2020, it launched its short position, but by October 2021, it had ditched that position.
Tesla has had a tumultuous year on Wall Street, dipping significantly to around the $220 mark at one point. However, it rebounded significantly in September, climbing back up to the $400 region, as it currently trades at around $430.
It closed at $430.14 on Monday.
Investor's Corner
Mizuho keeps Tesla (TSLA) “Outperform” rating but lowers price target
As per the Mizuho analyst, upcoming changes to EV incentives in the U.S. and China could affect Tesla’s unit growth more than previously expected.
Mizuho analyst Vijay Rakesh lowered Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) price target to $475 from $485, citing potential 2026 EV subsidy cuts in the U.S. and China that could pressure deliveries. The firm maintained its Outperform rating for the electric vehicle maker, however.
As per the Mizuho analyst, upcoming changes to EV incentives in the U.S. and China could affect Tesla’s unit growth more than previously expected. The U.S. accounted for roughly 37% of Tesla’s third-quarter 2025 sales, while China represented about 34%, making both markets highly sensitive to policy shifts. Potential 50% cuts to Chinese subsidies and reduced U.S. incentives affected the firm’s outlook.
With those pressures factored in, the firm now expects Tesla to deliver 1.75 million vehicles in 2026 and 2 million in 2027, slightly below consensus estimates of 1.82 million and 2.15 million, respectively. The analyst was cautiously optimistic, as near-term pressure from subsidies is there, but the company’s long-term tech roadmap remains very compelling.
Despite the revised target, Mizuho remained optimistic on Tesla’s long-term technology roadmap. The firm highlighted three major growth drivers into 2027: the broader adoption of Full Self-Driving V14, the expansion of Tesla’s Robotaxi service, and the commercialization of Optimus, the company’s humanoid robot.
“We are lowering TSLA Ests/PT to $475 with Potential BEV headwinds in 2026E. We believe into 2026E, US (~37% of TSLA 3Q25 sales) EV subsidy cuts and China (34% of TSLA 3Q25 sales) potential 50% EV subsidy cuts could be a headwind to EV deliveries.
“We are now estimating TSLA deliveries for 2026/27E at 1.75M/2.00M (slightly below cons. 1.82M/2.15M). We see some LT drivers with FSD v14 adoption for autonomous, robotaxi launches, and humanoid robots into 2027 driving strength,” the analyst noted.
Tesla stock (NASDAQ: TSLA) has landed an elusive “must own” status from Wall Street firm Melius, according to a new note released early this week.
Analyst Rob Wertheimer said Tesla will lead the charge in world-changing tech, given the company’s focus on self-driving, autonomy, and Robotaxi. In a note to investors, Wertheimer said “the world is about to change, dramatically,” because of the advent of self-driving cars.
He looks at the industry and sees many potential players, but the firm says there will only be one true winner:
“Our point is not that Tesla is at risk, it’s that everybody else is.”
The major argument is that autonomy is nearing a tipping point where years of chipping away at the software and data needed to develop a sound, safe, and effective form of autonomous driving technology turn into an avalanche of progress.
Wertheimer believes autonomy is a $7 trillion sector,” and in the coming years, investors will see “hundreds of billions in value shift to Tesla.”
A lot of the major growth has to do with the all-too-common “butts in seats” strategy, as Wertheimer believes that only a fraction of people in the United States have ridden in a self-driving car. In Tesla’s regard, only “tens of thousands” have tried Tesla’s latest Full Self-Driving (Supervised) version, which is v14.
Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.2 – Full Review, the Good and the Bad
When it reaches a widespread rollout and more people are able to experience Tesla Full Self-Driving v14, he believes “it will shock most people.”
Citing things like Tesla’s massive data pool from its vehicles, as well as its shift to end-to-end neural nets in 2021 and 2022, as well as the upcoming AI5 chip, which will be put into a handful of vehicles next year, but will reach a wider rollout in 2027, Melius believes many investors are not aware of the pace of advancement in self-driving.
Tesla’s lead in its self-driving efforts is expanding, Wertheimer says. The company is making strategic choices on everything from hardware to software, manufacturing, and overall vehicle design. He says Tesla has left legacy automakers struggling to keep pace as they still rely on outdated architectures and fragmented supplier systems.
Tesla shares are up over 6 percent at 10:40 a.m. on the East Coast, trading at around $416.
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