Investor's Corner
Tesla shares (TSLA) recover despite China’s new import tariffs
After showing recovery on Tuesday, Tesla shares (NASDAQ:TSLA) tumbled during pre-market trading on Wednesday amid China’s imposition of new tariffs over US-made products, including electric vehicles like Tesla. Before the opening bell on Tuesday, $TSLA shares were trading down 5.38% at $253.13. The company’s stocks began rebounding later during the day, however, bouncing back from its pre-market dive, up 1.55% and trading at $271.82 per share as of writing.
China’s announcement of its tariffs on US goods comes on the heels of the Trump’s administration’s plans to impose duties on $50 billion worth of Chinese products, including industrial, transport, and medical materials. According to a Reuters report, China Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang claimed that China had been open to resolving the trade dispute through negotiations, but the US had not been responsive so far.
“The best opportunities for resolving the issues through dialogue and negotiations have been repeatedly missed by the U.S. side,” Shuang said.
It only took China 11 hours to respond to Washington’s tariffs in kind, releasing a list of duties on key American imports. Among these are US-made products such as Tesla’s electric cars, Ford’s vehicles from its Lincoln brand, General Dynamics Corp’s Gulfstream jets, and Brown-Forman Corp’s Jack Daniels’ whiskey.
While the two countries’ tariffs on crucial imports appear alarming, Julian Evans-Pritchard, senior China economist at Capital Economics, said that it would not be surprising if negotiations between America and China would happen soon. According to the economist, it is worth noting that only announcements of the tariffs have been made so far. Neither country has called for enforcement of the duties yet.
“The assumption was China would not respond too aggressively and avoid escalating tensions. China’s response is a surprise for some people. It’s more of a game of brinkmanship, making it clear what the cost would be, in the hopes that both sides can come to agreement and none of these tariffs will come into force,” Evans-Pritchard said.
China’s tariffs, if ever they do get enforced, would likely affect Tesla’s operations in the country. Tesla, after all, is currently in intense competition with local electric car makers in China. As we noted in a previous report, Elon Musk brought up the issue of import taxes that American cars face on the country. Tesla is also engaged in negotiation with officials from Shanghai for the construction of a facility speculated to be the Model Y’s future factory.
J.P. Morgan analyst Ryan Brinkman reiterated his Underweight rating on Tesla’s stocks, citing the ongoing production difficulties that the company is facing with the Model 3. Brinkman also lowered his estimates and stock price target to $185 from $190. RBC Capital analyst Joseph Spak kept his Neutral rating on $TSLA, though he dropped his stock price target from $380 to $305, according to a MarketWatch report.
While Tesla’s shares took a dive during pre-market trading, IHS Markit Managing Director for Asia Pacific James Chao noted in a statement to Bloomberg that Tesla’s woes are relatively minor. Chao further stated the current challenges that Tesla’s shares are facing are manageable, especially since Elon Musk seems to work best when he is driven into a corner.
“(Elon Musk) is really at the edge here. I think this is the environment that works best in, under a lot of pressure. With the tweet on April Fools, you can see that he thrives in the moment. I think that you can see that he is performing, to a certain extent, 2,020 vehicles in the last week of April, was far beyond what analysts, in general, were looking for.
“The overall story just for Tesla is still intact, which is, while large automakers produce vehicles in every single segment of the market, including segments of the market where they can’t make money; Tesla focuses on one segment — this electric vehicle market — which is highly valued. And I think that story still continues despite short-term cycles.”
As we noted in a previous report, Tesla’s first quarter production and delivery report listed a 40% increase in production from Q4 2017. Tesla was also able to manufacture 2,020 Model 3 during the last week of March. Delivery figures were also strong, with the company delivering 29,980 vehicles in total during the first three months of the year. Among this number, 8.180 were Model 3.
Investor's Corner
Stifel raises Tesla price target by 9.8% over FSD, Robotaxi advancements
Stifel also maintained a “Buy” rating for the electric vehicle maker.
Investment firm Stifel has raised its price target for Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares to $483 from $440 over increased confidence in the company’s self-driving and Robotaxi programs. The new price target suggests an 11.5% upside from Tesla’s closing price on Tuesday.
Stifel also maintained a “Buy” rating despite acknowledging that Tesla’s timeline for fully unsupervised driving may be ambitious.
Building confidence
In a note to clients, Stifel stated that it believes “Tesla is making progress with modest advancements in its Robotaxi network and FSD,” as noted in a report from Investing.com. The firm expects unsupervised FSD to become available for personal use in the U.S. by the end of 2025, with a wider ride-hailing rollout potentially covering half of the U.S. population by year-end.
Stifel also noted that Tesla’s Robotaxi fleet could expand from “tiny to gigantic” within a short time frame, possibly making a material financial impact to the company by late 2026. The firm views Tesla’s vision-based approach to autonomy as central to this long-term growth, suggesting that continued advancements could unlock new revenue streams across both consumer and mobility sectors.
Tesla’s FSD goals still ambitious
While Stifel’s tone remains optimistic, the firm’s analysts acknowledged that Tesla’s aggressive autonomy timeline may face execution challenges. The note described the 2025 unsupervised FSD target as “a stretch,” though still achievable in the medium term.
“We believe Tesla is making progress with modest advancements in its Robotaxi network and FSD. The company has high expectations for its camera-based approach including; 1) Unsupervised FSD to be available for personal use in the United States by year-end 2025, which appears to be a stretch but seems more likely in the medium term; 2) that it will ‘probably have ride hailing in probably half of the populations of the U.S. by the end of the year’,” the firm noted.
Investor's Corner
Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirms bullish view on Tesla after record Q3 deliveries
The firm reiterated its Overweight rating and $355 price target.
Cantor Fitzgerald is maintaining its bullish outlook on Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) following the company’s record-breaking third quarter of 2025.
The firm reiterated its Overweight rating and $355 price target, citing strong delivery results driven by a rush of consumer purchases ahead of the end of the federal tax credit on September 30.
On Tesla’s vehicle deliveries in Q3 2025
During the third quarter of 2025, Tesla delivered a total of 497,099 vehicles, significantly beating analyst expectations of 443,079 vehicles. As per Cantor Fitzgerald, this was likely affected by customers rushing at the end of Q3 to purchase an EV due to the end of the federal tax credit, as noted in an Investing.com report.
“On 10/2, TSLA pre-announced that it delivered 497,099 vehicles in 3Q25 (its highest quarterly delivery in company history), significantly above Company consensus of 443,079, and above 384,122 in 2Q25. This was due primarily to a ‘push forward effect’ from consumers who rushed to purchase or lease EVs ahead of the $7,500 EV tax credit expiring on 9/30,” the firm wrote in its note.
A bright spot in Tesla Energy
Cantor Fitzgerald also highlighted that while Tesla’s full-year production and deliveries would likely fall short of 2024’s 1.8 million total, Tesla’s energy storage business remains a bright spot in the company’s results.
“Tesla also announced that it had deployed 12.5 GWh of energy storage products in 3Q25, its highest in company history vs. our estimate/Visible Alpha consensus of 11.5/10.9 GWh (and vs. ~6.9 GWh in 3Q24). Tesla’s Energy Storage has now deployed more products YTD than all of last year, which is encouraging. We expect Energy Storage revenue to surpass $12B this year, and to account for ~15% of total revenue,” the firm stated.
Tesla’s strong Q3 results have helped lift its market capitalization to $1.47 trillion as of writing. The company also teased a new product reveal on X set for October 7, which the firm stated could serve as another near-term catalyst.
Tesla stock (NASDAQ: TSLA) just got a weird price target boost from a notable bear just a day after it announced its strongest quarter in terms of vehicle deliveries and energy deployments.
JPMorgan raised its price target on Tesla shares from $115 to $150. It maintained its ‘Underweight’ rating on the stock.
Despite Tesla reporting 497,099 deliveries, about 12 percent above the 443,000 anticipated from the consensus, JPMorgan is still skeptical that the company can keep up its momentum, stating most of its Q3 strength came from leaning on the removal of the $7,500 EV tax credit, which expired on September 30.
Tesla hits record vehicle deliveries and energy deployments in Q3 2025
The firm said Tesla benefited from a “temporary stronger-than-expected industry-wide pull-forward” as the tax credit expired. It is no secret that consumers flocked to the company this past quarter to take advantage of the credit.
The bump will need to be solidified as the start of a continuing trend of strong vehicle deliveries, the firm said in a note to investors. Analysts said that one quarter of strength was “too soon to declare Tesla as having sustainably returned to growth in its core business.”
JPMorgan does not anticipate Tesla having strong showings with vehicle deliveries after Q4.
There are two distinct things that stick out with this note: the first is the lack of recognition of other parts of Tesla’s business, and the confusion that surrounds future quarters.
JPMorgan did not identify Tesla’s strength in autonomy, energy storage, or robotics, with autonomy and robotics being the main focuses of the company’s future. Tesla’s Full Self-Driving and Robotaxi efforts are incredibly relevant and drive more impact moving forward than vehicle deliveries.
Additionally, the confusion surrounding future delivery numbers in quarters past Q3 is evident.
Will Tesla thrive without the EV tax credit? Five reasons why they might
Tesla will receive some assistance from deliveries of vehicles that will reach customers in Q4, but will still qualify for the credit under the IRS’s revised rules. It will also likely introduce an affordable model this quarter, which should have a drastic impact on deliveries depending on pricing.
Tesla shares are trading at $422.40 at 2:35 p.m. on the East Coast.
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