Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Down 3.2% – Here’s What Happened

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s stock price fell 3.2% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $378.73 and last traded at $380.30. 66,605,827 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 9% from the average session volume of 60,867,492 shares. The stock had previously closed at $392.78.

Tesla News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

• Positive Sentiment: US government-confirmed supply deal: Reuters reports a $4.3 billion LFP prismatic battery cell supply agreement between Tesla and LG Energy Solution — a material, multi‑year supply commitment that supports cost and scale for Tesla’s lower-cost vehicle programs and energy products. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Solar manufacturing push: Multiple reports say Tesla is in talks to buy ~$2.9B of solar equipment from Chinese suppliers to build out U.S. solar panel/cell capacity — supports Elon Musk’s 100 GW U.S. solar goal and diversifies revenue beyond vehicles. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Chip/AI roadmap progressing: Elon Musk and Reuters/Barron’s coverage indicate Tesla is targeting a December 2026 tape‑out for next‑gen AI chips (AI6/AI5) and pursuing “Terafab” initiatives — a successful chip program would reduce supply risk and accelerate Tesla’s autonomy/robotics ambitions. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Semi truck early traction: Media reports (WSJ) show positive early feedback from truckers on Tesla’s Semi — encouraging for commercial product credibility, but near‑term revenue impact is modest. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Geographic/energy expansion: Job listings and reporting show Tesla preparing an India push into industrial energy storage — long‑term optionality for energy business, but execution and timing unclear. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory overhang — FSD probe escalates: U.S. regulators (NHTSA) upgraded the FSD investigation to engineering analysis covering millions of vehicles after crashes in reduced‑visibility conditions — this raises recall/enforcement risk and is a primary driver of today’s weakness. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst/market pressure on deliveries and valuation: UBS and others have cut Q1 delivery forecasts and reiterated cautious ratings; HSBC headlines predicting deep downside amplify negative sentiment and volatility. Read More. • Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Competition & robotaxi doubts: Rivian/Uber alliance and commentary that Waymo leads the AV race increase skepticism about Tesla’s robotaxi timeline and margins for autonomy/Optimus. Read More.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TSLA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Phillip Securities lowered their price target on shares of Tesla from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. New Street Research raised their target price on shares of Tesla from $520.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $415.00 target price on shares of Tesla and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Tesla from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and nine have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $406.84.

Tesla Trading Down 3.2%

The stock has a market cap of $1.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 340.70, a PEG ratio of 11.25 and a beta of 1.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $414.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $426.50.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.05. Tesla had a net margin of 4.00% and a return on equity of 4.86%. The company had revenue of $24.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.73 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Tesla news, Director James R. Murdoch sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $445.40, for a total value of $26,724,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 577,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $257,009,607.40. The trade was a 9.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 25,731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.56, for a total transaction of $10,692,774.36. Following the sale, the director directly owned 19,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,173,649.64. The trade was a 56.68% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 87,995 shares of company stock valued at $38,315,650 over the last ninety days. 19.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Networth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Tesla in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Chapman Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Tesla during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Davidson Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Tesla by 79.4% in the 4th quarter. Davidson Capital Management Inc. now owns 61 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Tesla in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Tesla during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 66.20% of the company’s stock.

About Tesla

Tesla, Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) is an American company that designs, manufactures and sells electric vehicles, energy generation and energy storage products. Founded in 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, Tesla grew into a vertically integrated mobility and clean‑energy company with Elon Musk serving as its chief executive officer. The company’s stated mission is to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy, reflected in its combined focus on electric drivetrains, battery technology, renewable energy products and software.

Tesla’s automotive business includes a lineup of battery‑electric vehicles and related services.