Investor's Corner
Tesla’s (TSLA) fundamental difference on Wall St., and competitors can’t keep up
Tesla has enjoyed a significant rally on Wall Street in 2020. The meteoric rise of a once-small, likely unsuccessful automotive company is truly a prime example of the American economy working to the advantage of the dreamer. At one time, Tesla was out of money and had to plead for investors to funnel in more funds to keep its doors open. Years later, the company is the hottest stock in the American economy, up 650% on the year, despite not having more than two operational car production facilities.
Some may ask: Why is this small, relatively new car company running amok in the industry? What do they have that the competitors don’t? Why is Tesla so much more appealing to investors now than any other company? There are a lot of responses that may adequately answer any of these questions. But the real answer that generally covers all of these bases is that Tesla is more about the message than the money. While the supremely high valuation spells something as large as Apple or Facebook, Tesla is leading a charge in an industry full of attractive names. The fact is, Tesla has the shiniest name of all.
Perhaps, in the field of sustainable energy companies, there may be some real players that hold significant amounts of power. But the fact is, none of the names, or Tesla, were taken seriously up until a few years ago. Sustainable energy and the idea of sourcing power from the sun, wind, and other clean outlets was not a broadly accepted idea in the United States. While wind farms and solar panels have existed all over this country, the idea of powering anything from a house to a business with something other than coal or natural gas wasn’t a big thing, especially in Pennsylvania, where I am from.
But now, the idea of having sustainable sources of energy are translating into a nationwide phenomenon. And when trends begin to turn, the investor begins to see dollar signs. The thing is this: the sustainable energy movement is here, and it’s been here, and it’s only going to get bigger. More people will begin using solar panels because they’re becoming more affordable for the average American to purchase. More people will begin driving electric cars because they are becoming more affordable, they require less maintenance, and there are more environmental advantages. This is where the industry of sustainable energy becomes more competitive, and more companies are looking for their slice of the pie.
The problem for companies that have a history of using non-sustainable products is that their name is tarnished, and it would require a new identity to expunge the investor’s mind of negative thoughts. On the other hand, the companies that don’t have that past, like Tesla, for example, bring a conditioned picture of an electric car and sustainable products to the investor’s head. And the average investor will be more prone to purchase products from an exciting and somewhat proven company than from one that is transitioning from gas to electric and basically has to reestablish itself from the ground up.
The sentiment on companies that have a sustainable name has changed. Once “dead end” companies that have exploded into real industry players, they are more appealing to the common investor. People are not thinking about their dollars right now; they’re thinking about the future. Tesla’s mission is about the future, and people are investing their money in TSLA shares because they know where the future is headed. They also know who is leading them there, and that is the company that is going to get the shares bought and see the stock price increase. Clean energy has been around for decades, but it’s always been a second-thought because gas and oil have provided jobs and economic stability. There’s no reason that the U.S. sustainable energy market can’t do the same thing, and it will if jobs are kept on American soil.
The act of having investors forget about the sustainable energy movement is over, and Tesla has essentially ended the stigma on clean energy stocks, proving they can be winners and big ones at that.
Tesla’s effort in R&D and innovation also has helped the stock price, obviously. But, the common investor is also driving up demand for the stock. That’s why TSLA’s $5 billion offering was snapped up in a matter of a day and a handful of hours.
Investor's Corner
Tesla Q4 delivery numbers are better than they initially look: analyst
The Deepwater Asset Management Managing Partner shared his thoughts in a post on his website.
Longtime Tesla analyst and Deepwater Asset Management Managing Partner Gene Munster has shared his insights on Tesla’s Q4 2025 deliveries. As per the analyst, Tesla’s numbers are actually better than they first appear.
Munster shared his thoughts in a post on his website.
Normalized December Deliveries
Munster noted that Tesla delivered 418k vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2025, slightly below Street expectations of 420k but above the whisper number of 415k. Tesla’s reported 16% year-over-year decline, compared to +7% in September, is largely distorted by the timing of the tax credit expiration, which pulled forward demand.
“Taking a step back, we believe September deliveries pulled forward approximately 55k units that would have otherwise occurred in December or March. For simplicity, we assume the entire pull-forward impacted the December quarter. Under this assumption, September growth would have been down ~5% absent the 55k pull-forward, a Deepwater estimate tied to the credit’s expiration.
“For December deliveries to have declined ~5% year over year would imply total deliveries of roughly 470k. Subtracting the 55k units pulled into September results in an implied December delivery figure of approximately 415k. The reported 418k suggests that, when normalizing for the tax credit timing, quarter-over-quarter growth has been consistently down ~5%. Importantly, this ~5% decline represents an improvement from the ~13% declines seen in both the March and June 2025 quarters.“
Tesla’s United States market share
Munster also estimated that Q4 as a whole might very well show a notable improvement in Tesla’s market share in the United States.
“Over the past couple of years, based on data from Cox Automotive, Tesla has been losing U.S. EV market share, declining to just under 50%. Based on data for October and November, Cox estimates that total U.S. EV sales were down approximately 35%, compared to Tesla’s just reported down 16% for the full quarter. For the first two months of the quarter, Cox reported Tesla market share of roughly a 65% share, up from under 50% in the September quarter.
“While this data excludes December, the quarter as a whole is likely to show a material improvement in Tesla’s U.S. EV market share.“
Elon Musk
Tesla analyst breaks down delivery report: ‘A step in the right direction’
“This will be viewed as better than feared deliveries and a step in the right direction for the Tesla story heading into 2026,” Ives wrote.
Tesla analyst Dan Ives of Wedbush released a new note on Friday morning just after the company released production and delivery figures for Q4 and the full year of 2025, stating that the numbers, while slightly underwhelming, are “better than feared” and as “a step in the right direction.”
Tesla reported production of 434,358 and deliveries of 418,227 for the fourth quarter, while 1,654,667 vehicles were produced and 1,636,129 cars were delivered for the full year.
Tesla releases Q4 and FY 2025 vehicle delivery and production report
Interestingly, the company posted its own consensus figures that were compiled from various firms on its website a few days ago, where expectations were set at 1,640,752 cars for the year. Tesla fell about 4,000 units short of that. One of the areas where Tesla excelled was energy deployments, which totaled 46.7 GWh for the year.
🚨 Wedbush’s Dan Ives has released a new note on Tesla $TSLA:
“Tesla announced its FY4Q25 delivery numbers this morning coming in at 418.2k vehicles slightly below the company’s consensus delivery estimate of 422.9k but much better than the whisper numbers of ~410k as the…
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 2, 2026
In terms of vehicle deliveries, Ives writes that Tesla certainly has some things to work through if it wants to return to growth in that aspect, especially with the loss of the $7,500 tax credit in the U.S. and “continuous headwinds” for the company in Europe.
However, Ives also believes that, given the delivery numbers, which were on par with expectations, Tesla is positioned well for a strong 2026, especially with its AI focus, Robotaxi and Cybercab development, and energy:
“This will be viewed as better than feared deliveries and a step in the right direction for the Tesla story heading into 2026. We look forward to hearing more at the company’s 4Q25 call on January 28th. AI Valuation – The Focus Throughout 2026. We believe Tesla could reach a $2 trillion market cap over the coming year and, in a bull case scenario, $3 trillion by the end of 2026…as full-scale volume production begins with the autonomous and robotics roadmap…The company has started to test the all-important Cybercab in Austin over the past few weeks, which is an incremental step towards launching in 2026 with important volume production of Cybercabs starting in April/May, which remains the golden goose in unlocking TSLA’s AI valuation.”
It’s no secret that for the past several years, Tesla’s vehicle delivery numbers have been the main focus of investors and analysts have looked at them as an indicator of company health to a certain extent. The problem with that narrative in 2025 and 2026 is that Tesla is now focusing more on the deployment of Full Self-Driving, its Optimus project, AI development, and Cybercab.
While vehicle deliveries still hold importance, it is more crucial to note that Tesla’s overall environment as a business relies on much more than just how many cars are purchased. That metric, to a certain extent, is fading in importance in the grand scheme of things, but it will never totally disappear.
Ives and Wedbush maintained their $600 price target and an ‘Outperform’ rating on the stock.
Investor's Corner
Tesla releases Q4 and FY 2025 vehicle delivery and production report
Deliveries stood at 406,585 Model 3/Y and 11,642 other models, for a total of 418,227 vehicles.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) has reported its Q4 2025 production and deliveries, with 418,227 vehicles delivered and 434,358 produced worldwide. Energy storage deployments hit a quarterly record at 14.2 GWh.
Tesla’s Q4 and FY 2025 results were posted on Friday, January 2, 2026.
Q4 2025 production and deliveries
In Q4 2025, Tesla produced 422,652 Model 3/Y units and 11,706 other models, which are comprised of the Model S, Model X, and the Cybertruck, for a total of 434,358 vehicles. Deliveries stood at 406,585 Model 3/Y and 11,642 other models, for a total of 418,227 vehicles.
Energy deployments reached 14.2 GWh, a new record. Similar to other reports, Tesla posted a company thanked customers, employees, suppliers, shareholders, and supporters for its fourth quarter results.
In comparison, analysts included in Tesla’s company-compiled consensus estimate that Tesla would deliver 422,850 vehicles and deploy 13.4 GWh of battery storage systems in Q4 2025.
Tesla’s Full Year 2025 results
For the full year, Tesla produced a total of 1,654,667 vehicles, comprised of 1,600,767 Model Y/3 and 53,900 other models. Tesla also delivered 1,636,129 vehicles in FY 2025, comprised of 1,585,279 Model Y/3 and 50,850 other models. Energy deployments totaled 46.7 GWh over the year.
In comparison, analysts included in Tesla’s company-compiled consensus expected the company to deliver a total of 1,640,752 vehicles for full year 2025. Analysts also expected Tesla’s energy division to deploy a total of 45.9 GWh during the year.
Tesla will post its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2025 after market close on Wednesday, January 28, 2026. The company’s Q4 and FY 2025 earnings call is expected to be held on the same day at 4:30 p.m. Central Time.
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