Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
JPMorgan analyst Ryan Brinkman lowered the firm’s price target on Tesla to $120 from $135 on Wednesday, while maintaining an Underweight rating, citing a decline in expected vehicle deliveries and potential pricing pressure.
The firm revised its estimates amid a shift in sentiment toward Tesla’s brand, with both existing customers and potential buyers reacting in “myriad different ways,” including protests at Tesla stores, sales boycotts, and increased listings of used vehicles.
JPMorgan now forecasts Tesla’s first-quarter deliveries at about 355,000 vehicles, an 8% decline from a year earlier and down 28% from the previous quarter. The estimate is 15% below the Bloomberg consensus of 418,000.
The firm warned that negative sentiment could further pressure sales, as intiially reported by The Fly.
As of the time of writing, Tesla shares are trading 7% higher at $246.50. The stock tumbled over 15% on Monday and reached $215 before climbing on Tuesday’s session while U.S. President Donald Trump hosted Elon Musk at the White House and praised the CEO’s efforts and acquired a Tesla Model S for the White House staff.
Production Ramp up
Data from the Chinese carmaker Li Auto showed earlier this week that Model Y registrations in China reached 8,700 units in the week of March 3-9, up 30% from 6,700 the previous week.
The increase follows a ramp-up in production at Tesla’s Shanghai plant, which began deliveries of the refreshed Model Y “Launch Series” edition on February 26.
As it continues the transition to the new version, the production (and deliveries) continue to ramp up in China, Tesla’s second-largest market. In 2024, Tesla delivered 36.7% of its cars to customers in the country.
For the full month of February, Tesla sold 26,777 vehicles in China’s domestic market, down 11.2% year-on-year and 20.6% from January, data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) showed earlier this week.
