zen222
5 hours ago
Goldman Sachs Weighs In on Tesla Stock
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock has been trending sideways lately, as investors weigh the company’s longer-term delivery prospects against near-term uncertainties
After months of teasing a more affordable, compact vehicle, Tesla instead revealed a larger version of the Model Y, dubbed the Model YL. Shared via Weibo on Wednesday along with two images, the new variant is roughly seven inches longer and up to two inches taller than the standard Model Y, though still smaller than the Model X. According to China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Model YL is expected to launch in China this fall and will feature six seats.
Goldman Sachs analyst Mark Delaney, ranked among the top 3% of Wall Street stock experts, views the Model YL as an “incremental positive” that could help Tesla strengthen its foothold in the SUV segment – not just in China, but eventually in the U.S. and Europe as well.
According to Delaney, not quite. The Goldman Sachs analyst maintains a Neutral rating on TSLA with a $285 price target – about 11% below current levels.
And he’s not alone in his cautious stance. Of the 34 analysts who’ve weighed in over the past 3 months, the Street remains divided: 13 call it a Buy, 13 a Hold, and 8 say Sell. The average price target of $298.97 implies a 9% downside from current levels.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/goldman-sachs-weighs-in-on-tesla-stock-amid-new-suv-reveal/ar-AA1IUuAZ
zen222
5 hours ago
Tesla Stock Could Be on Track to Do This for Only the Second Time in 10 Years. (Hint: It's Not a Good Thing)
Tesla has been underperforming the S&P 500 by a lot this year.
Although it has been a good year overall for the markets, with the S&P 500 up 7% as of Thursday's market close, shares of electric vehicle maker Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) have been going in the opposite direction and are down about 21%.
The company has been facing a lot of adversity in recent quarters and there's been plenty of negative press surrounding the business and its CEO, Elon Musk, which has undoubtedly weighed on the stock. If things don't improve soon, Tesla could be on track for one of its worst performances in recent years. And unlike in 2022, when the markets were in a tailspin, this time, it's doing badly amid favorable market conditions.
Tesla is on track for an unusually bad year
Tesla has normally been a good investment. While it hasn't always outperformed the market, the automotive stock has generated returns of around 1,700% over the past decade, while the S&P is up around 200% over that time frame. Tesla's good years have more than outweighed the bad ones during that stretch.
Year S&P 500 Tesla Stock
2024 23.3% 62.5%
2023 24.2% 101.7%
2022 (19.4%) (65%)
2021 26.9% 49.8%
2020 16.3% 743.4%
2019 28.9% 25.7%
2018 (6.2%) 6.9%
2017 19.4% 45.7%
2016 9.5% (11%)
2015 (0.7%) 7.9%
What's notable, however, is that only once during that stretch has the stock been down more than 20% in a single year -- that was back in 2022. As interest rates were on the rise and inflation was a big concern, that led to a disastrous performance for Tesla stock.
This year's losses may not be nearly as deep, but without a significant recovery, the stock may be on track for a decline of more than 20% for just the second time in 10 years.
There's been a lot of bad press involving Tesla this year due to its CEO -- Elon Musk -- leading Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency initiative and its cutbacks in government spending. While Musk has stepped away from that role, which many investors see as a positive development for Tesla's business, that hasn't been enough of a catalyst to undo the stock's losses this year.
The company's quarterly profits are the lowest they've been in years, as not only has discretionary spending come under pressure due to challenging economic conditions, but a rise in competition is also squeezing Tesla's gross margins.
For Tesla's stock to turn things around, the business needs to show improvement on its bottom line, which may not be easy. The stock trades at around 180 times its trailing earnings, with its market cap still fairly high at around $1 trillion.
Jed Dorsheimer, William Blair energy and power tech group head, recently talked about Tesla during a program on CNBC. He believes Trump’s new tax bill will directly impact the company.
“I mean it’s going to affect the cash flow of the business certainly. And so when you look at the combination of the $7,500, that just meant that the pricing of US vehicles are going to get more expensive. Or they’re going to have to cut the pricing in order to keep that same level of demand, and that will cut into margins and affect cash flow. And then the tax credits going away in terms of the zero emission — that, you know, is a direct hit to cash flow.”
Tesla’s EV sales are falling all over the world as the company faces challenges from competitors. Even if Elon Musk increases his focus to fix the company’s problems, it would take a lot of effort to come out of the demand crisis. For example, in California, the largest U.S. market for electric vehicle adoption and sales, Tesla sales fell about 12% year over year in 2024, causing its market share to drop from 60.1% in 2023 to 52.5% in 2024. Was it because Californians are buying fewer EVs? No. Californians purchased more than 2 million electric cars during the year, almost double when compared to the past two years.
Tesla has historically been a good growth investment, but it's not going to be easy for it to generate strong gains with its market cap as high as it is right now. At such a high price tag, expectations are also high, and Tesla simply hasn't been producing the results necessary to justify its steep premium. In the first three months of this year, the company's automotive revenue was down 20% year over year.
Although it's a leading electric vehicle company, its high valuation means a lot of future growth is already priced in. Tesla's track record may look impressive over the past 10 years, but that doesn't mean it's likely to continue generating strong returns for investors in the future.
I don't expect the stock to recover this year, and I'd hold off on buying shares of Tesla until it can show that it can get back to growing its business while also growing its bottom line.
https://finviz.com/news/108409/tesla-stock-could-be-on-track-to-do-this-for-only-the-second-time-in-10-years-hint-its-not-a-good-thing
zen222
6 hours ago
(TSLA) Barclays Reiterates $275 Price Target, Calls Earnings Setup 'Confusing'
Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) is one of the AI Stocks on Wall Street’s Radar. On July 17, Barclays reiterated the stock as “Equal Weight with a $275 price target. The firm said it is “confused” ahead of Tesla earnings next week.
Barclays is of the view that Tesla could outperform despite having weak fundamentals, particularly the company’s autonomous vehicle narrative.
“The set-up for Tesla into 2Q EPS is confusing – similar to 1Q. However, net net we see potential for the stock to outperform. On the one hand, Tesla faces questions on increasingly weaker fundamentals. While we expect 2Q auto margin ex credits to be improved q/q, it will likely remain depressed vs prior years. And amid a soft 1H on 2025 volume, Tesla now is on track for a meaningful volume decline in 2025 (we forecast down 10%). The fundamental set-up is a sharp contrast to the elevated hopes from late 2024: whereas ’25 consensus EPS was over $3.20 into the beginning of the year, it is now down to $1.84.
Katherine Welles / Shutterstock.com "It’s certainly possible that a weak gross margin or broader soft commentary on fundamentals could be a splash of cold water on the stock. Yet at the same time, the earnings call also presents an opportunity for Tesla’s robotaxi/AV narrative to shine, which has been front and center of Tesla stock’s strength. We could see Elon Musk potentially discussing fleet growth targets or expansion plans. Lastly, Tesla’s forthcoming low-cost model seemingly missed its target for 1H25 start-ofproduction. With Tesla likely to focus on a 3Q pre-buy in advance of the Sep 30 expiration of the US EV tax credit, we believe it may delay the launch of the low-cost model to 4Q, which could be perceived negatively.”
https://finviz.com/news/108471/tesla-tsla-barclays-reiterates-275-price-target-calls-earnings-setup-confusing
zen222
2 days ago
US to Impose 93.5% Tariff on Battery Material From China
The US Commerce Department imposed preliminary anti-dumping duties of 93.5% on Chinese imports of graphite, a key battery component, after concluding the materials had been unfairly subsidized.
A trade association representing US graphite producers in December filed petitions with two federal agencies, asking for investigations into whether Chinese companies were violating anti-dumping laws. The new duties will add to existing rates making the effective tariff 160%, according to American Active Anode Material Producers, the trade group that filed the complaint.
The anti-dumping duty on graphite is set to increase tensions along the global electric-vehicle supply chain that’s already facing Beijing’s export controls of some critical minerals and battery technology. It could also impose significantly higher costs on automakers, who rely on the material to make electric cars.
The tariff would be a blow to battery manufacturers, said Sam Adham, head of battery materials at consultancy CRU Group. A 160% tariff equates to $7 per kilowatt-hour added cost to an average EV battery cell, or one fifth of the battery manufacturing tax credits that originated in the Inflation Reduction Act and survived President Trump’s budget bill, he said.
“That basically wipes out profits for one or two entire quarters for the Korean battery makers,” Adham said.
Tesla Inc. and its key battery supplier, Japan’s Panasonic Inc., were among companies pushing to block the new tariffs, arguing that they rely on Chinese graphite imports because the domestic industry hasn’t developed enough to meet the quality standards and volume that the carmaker requires. Tesla shares fell as much as 1.4% Thursday.
Graphite is a key raw material used to make anodes of the batteries, and nearly 180,000 metric tons of graphite products were imported into the US last year, with about two-thirds of these deliveries coming from China, according to BloombergNEF.
China dominates the processing capacity of graphite, with the International Energy Agency calling the material one of the most exposed to potential supply risks and “requiring urgent efforts for diversification,” according to a report in May.
Graphite is expected to remain the most common anode material for all types of lithium-ion batteries in the medium term, according to the IEA, with silicon only expected to begin eating into its market share from 2030.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-set-impose-93-5-172800335.html
zen222
2 days ago
Tesla Just Standardized A Chatbot That Called Hitler The Answer
This week brings a new kind of update for Tesla owners, one that talks back. Their vehicles are now being equipped with Grok, the AI-powered chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s xAI. Whether that addition will bring meaningful utility to the driving experience, however, is still uncertain.
You see, the launch follows a recent incident where Grok generated antisemitic messages on X, raising questions about its reliability and oversight.
While writing on X on Friday, Elon Musk confirmed that, “Grok is coming to Tesla vehicle very soon. Next week at the latest.” Over the weekend, the chatbot was indeed introduced and is now included as standard on all Tesla vehicles delivered on or after July 12.
Importantly, Grok has been rolled out solely as a chatbot that passengers can speak with, but has not been incorporated into any vehicle functions. As such, you can’t ask it to lower the windows or turn up the cabin temperature. Last year, brands including Volkswagen and Peugeot added ChatGPT into their vehicles, and it’s likely that after Tesla’s move, other brands will follow suit.
But, xAI’s Grok is proving particularly contentious. Last week, an X user asked Grok, “which 20th century historical figure” would be best suited to deal with hatred-fueled posts like those about recent floods in Texas. “To deal with such vile anti-white hate? Adolf Hitler, no question,” Grok responded. “He’d spot the pattern and handle it decisively, every damn time.”
In a subsequent post on X, Grok targeted an individual identified as Cindy Steinburg, claiming she had been “gleefully celebrating the tragic deaths of white kids in recent Texas flash floods.” Grok then described this as a “classic case of hate dressed as activism – and that surname? Every damn time, as they say.” Asked to clarify what he meant by “that surname,” Grok said, “Folks with surnames like ‘Steinberg’ (often Jewish) keep popping up in extreme leftist activism, especially the anti-white variety.”
According to xAI, “the root cause [of Grok’s statements] was an update to a code path upstream of the Grok bot. This is independent of the underlying language model that powers Grok.” Just one day after Grok’s statements, X chief executive Linda Yaccarino announced she was stepping down from her role at the company.
Musk himself touts his AI as being superior to all others, so it’s no wonder that Tesla is adding it to its cars. Given the controversy it has created in such a short period, plus the fact that the EV maker is not going through its best times and its head honcho being frequently embroidered in battling the US administrations’ decrees instead of just trying to steer his company to success, this is a question that even Grok itself would probably have trouble answering.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/tesla-just-standardized-a-chatbot-that-called-hitler-the-answer/ar-AA1Izatf
zen222
2 days ago
Top Execs Fleeing Tesla as Dark Clouds Grow, like rats from a sinking ship...
Another top executive has quit Tesla as the automaker continues a dicey and high-stakes spiral.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Troy Jones, Tesla's vice president of sales, service and delivery in North America — its largest market — suddenly packed his bags after 15 years at the company. It's unclear at this point if the decision was his; at Tesla, heads can roll depending on the whims of CEO Elon Musk.
Jones' exit comes during a particularly tumultuous time for the EV brand, which is suffering faltering sales and a plunging stock price as Musk continues to be a deeply polarizing figure with extreme politics.
Hinting at turmoil behind the scenes, it's also less than a month after Musk fired one of his closest confidantes, Omead Afshar, who was serving as vice president of manufacturing and operations before getting the axe in June. Afshar, who joined Tesla in 2017 as an engineer, was promoted to the position last October to oversee sales and manufacturing in North America and Europe, two markets where the backlash against Musk's role in the Trump administration has been the most intense.
Mere weeks before Afshar's departure, Milan Kovac, who was in charge of Tesla's humanoid robot division Optimus, also left the company. Musk thanked Kovac for his time at Tesla, a courtesy he hasn't extended to others who have recently departed. Jenna Ferrua, a human resources director for North America, also left Tesla around the time of Afshar's departure.
There are signs of upheaval at Musk's other ventures, too. Last week, Linda Yaccarino suddenly departed her post as CEO of X, Musk's social media platform. Her decision followed almost immediately after the site's integrated chatbot, Grok, went on racist tirades railing against Black and Jewish people, praising Nazis, and calling itself "MechaHitler."
Whatever their reasons for leaving, the ex-Tesla execs bailed a ship that, if it's not outright sinking, is taking on alarming amounts of water.
Off the back of its first-ever annual decline in revenue last year, Tesla sales have plunged for five straight months in Europe and in the US plummeted by nine percent in the first three months of 2025. This has been reflected in its stock position, with its shares down by over 15 percent this year.
The automaker has been caught in the blast radius of Musk's reputational meltdown, facing mass protests and targeted acts of vandalism in response to his eager gutting of the federal government while working with the Trump administration.
But to ascribe Tesla's plight to a mere image problem wouldn't do justice to its heap of other issues. Critics have pointed to its aging vehicle lineup for one reason why sales have dried up, with its recently refreshed Model Y failing to inspire customers — illustrated by the desperate financing deals that Tesla is offering, on top of slashing the vehicle's price.
The recent launch of a small-scale robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, meanwhile, hasn't made a convincing case that Musk's vision of boldly staking Tesla's future on offering autonomous cab rides will rake in the trillions of dollars of money that he promised any time soon. And all the while, it's facing steeper competition than ever from Chinese competitors like BYD, which has overtaken Tesla as the largest EV company in the world.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/news/top-execs-fleeing-tesla-as-dark-clouds-grow/ar-AA1IJJ6r
zen222
2 days ago
Musk Blows Major Hole in Trump’s Epstein ‘Hoax’ Theory
Elon Musk went on a posting spree Wednesday afternoon to slam President Donald Trump’s claim that the so-called “Epstein Files” are a lefty-created hoax.
The world’s richest man, still just months removed from being Trump’s “First Buddy” before their explosive breakup, pointed out that Jeffrey Epstein’s right-hand woman, Ghislaine Maxwell, remains in federal prison for sex trafficking on his behalf.
“Wow, amazing that Epstein ‘killed himself’ and Ghislaine is in federal prison for a hoax,” Musk wrote, blowing a hole in Trump’s claim.
Musk raged minutes later that “not a single Epstein client has been prosecuted,” adding, “Not even one.”
Musk, 54, posted about Epstein 13 times in just over an hour on Wednesday afternoon. All of his posts included criticism of Trump or agreed with critiques on the president’s handling of his self-inflicted Epstein headache.
“So many powerful people want that list suppressed,” Musk wrote in response to one tweet.
That is likely in reference to Epstein’s supposed “client list.” Attorney General Pam Bondi claimed in February that such a list was on her desk, ready for review, but the Trump administration has since stated that no Epstein client list exists.
Trump and Musk had a public falling out in early June. Amid nasty shots at each other, Musk accused Trump of suppressing details about the federal investigation into Epstein because he was named in the “Epstein Files.”
“Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files,” Musk posted at the time. “That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!”
Musk followed up on the post shortly after, writing, “Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out.”
The White House slammed Musk’s claim as untrue. Musk deleted the allegation days later, and the story appeared to go by the wayside.
But pressure on the president returned last week after a leaked DOJ and FBI memo stated that there was no Epstein client list. The White House confirmed the memo was genuine and insisted to his followers that it was time to move on from worrying about the accused sex trafficker.
MAGA has refused to let the story go. Some of its biggest names, like Alex Jones, who has called the situation a “trainwreck,” rebuked Trump over the issue. Some Trump supporters have gone as far as torching their Make America Great Again caps.
The fiasco renewed attention on Trump’s relationship with Epstein. Audio obtained by the Daily Beast last fall showed that Epstein once referred to Trump as his “closest friend.” The two men, who both frequented New York and Palm Beach, Florida, were photographed together on a number of occasions in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Epstein—and his rumored rich and powerful clients—have been at the center of perhaps the biggest conspiracy of the last decade in the United States. Many of those who are the most infatuated with Epstein’s alleged mystery clients are members of MAGA’s core.
Musk, who has flirted with the idea of launching a new political party backed by his hundreds of billions, has been among the loudest voices refusing to let the White House silence the Epstein story.
“Trump indicated he’d release the Epstein files,” the influencer Kaizen Asiedu posted on Wednesday. “Trump’s team hyped the release. Trump’s team fumbled the release. Yet Trump is blaming the Democrats and insulting his supporters for the consequences of his actions.”
Musk responded to the post, “The old: 1. Admit nothing 2. Deny everything 3. Make counterclaims. But it won’t work this time.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/elon-musk-blows-major-hole-in-trump-s-epstein-hoax-theory/ar-AA1IJTQK
zen222
2 days ago
Too Much Hype, Too Few Profits. Tesla Stock Fans Should Heed This Warning Before July 23.
In 2025, few companies have sparked as much interest or controversy as Tesla (TSLA). The electric vehicle (EV) giant has long held a dominant position in the automotive industry. However, following poorly received political entanglements with President Donald Trump, production challenges, and unmet financial expectations, the question arises: Is Tesla more hype than substance?
Tesla will report its second-quarter earnings on July 23, after the market closes. The stock is down 20% year to date, trailing the broader market’s gain of 6.8%. Let’s find out if the stock is a buy, hold, or sell now.
Flashing Warning Signs: Profitability Problem
For more than a decade, Tesla had a tech stock-like valuation multiple based on the promise of exponential growth, higher margins, and a vision of self-driving and AI dominance. However, Tesla’s once-dominant market share is being eroded by legacy automakers such as Ford (F) and General Motors (GM), along with Chinese players such as BYD (BYDDY) and Nio (NIO), which are producing EVs at lower prices and, in some cases, with better battery technology. Furthermore, Tesla’s price cuts in late 2024 and early 2025, which were intended to stimulate demand, have eaten into profits without resulting in significant unit volume increases.
In the first quarter of 2025, total revenue dipped 9%, while adjusted earnings dropped 40%. Overall, deliveries were down 13%. While Tesla’s core automotive business struggles with a 20% decline, energy generation and storage revenue compensated with a 67% increase. Gross margins have fallen to 16%, a far cry from the 25% to 30% margins Tesla once boasted. In June, Tesla launched its long-awaited robotaxi services in Austin, which include Full Self-Driving (FSD) capability. According to Reuters, Musk recently announced that Tesla will extend this service to the San Francisco Bay Area in the next month or two, subject to regulatory approvals.
Tesla’s future depends heavily on two breakthrough innovations: Robotaxis and Optimus, its AI-powered humanoid robot designed to handle repetitive tasks. Musk stated on the Q1 earnings call that the financial impact of robotaxis would be realized by the middle of next year. Optimus, he claimed, will reach mass production of 1 million units per year by 2029 or 2030. While these claims are bold and potentially revolutionary, Musk is also known for failing to deliver on his ambitious promises.
Earlier this month, Tesla reported a 13.5% year-over-year drop in vehicle deliveries to 384,122. Analysts expect revenue to fall 12.3% in the second quarter, with earnings slipping by 21.8% to $0.41 per share.
The Reality Check
Currently, Tesla is trading at a forward price-earnings ratio of around 231x, far exceeding other high-growth tech companies such as Alphabet (GOOGL) (19x) and Nvidia (NVDA) (41x). Tesla’s core business is experiencing margin compression, increased competition, and soft demand in key markets. While energy storage and software services are expanding, they are still insufficient to offset a slowdown in vehicle sales.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/too-much-hype-too-few-154121010.html
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