Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Trading Down 1% – Here’s Why

Shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) dropped 1% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $449.30 and last traded at $449.72. Approximately 48,643,493 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 50% from the average daily volume of 97,729,922 shares. The stock had previously closed at $454.43.

Tesla News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Progress on autonomy and robotaxi roadmap supports long‑term upside — Tesla rolled out FSD v14.2.2.2 claiming smoother lane changes and better decisions, which keeps the robotaxi thesis alive for investors. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Major broker support: Baird reiterated a Buy and a $548 target, highlighting robotaxi, Optimus and energy as multi‑year catalysts — a bullish voice that can prop valuation while fundamentals are reassessed. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Short interest headline removed: Michael Burry publicly confirmed he is not short Tesla, removing one prominent perceived near‑term bearish pressure. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO stability: Elon Musk asserted he will remain CEO for at least five years — that reduces governance uncertainty for some investors but doesn’t change near‑term sales dynamics. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Musk publicity claims (Model Y bestselling) create narrative momentum but are disputed by data sources — boosts PR but may not move fundamentals. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Company‑compiled delivery consensus signals a meaningful Q4 decline — Tesla published analyst estimates suggesting Q4 deliveries could fall ~15% year‑over‑year, a rare preemptive move that weighs on near‑term revenue growth expectations. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction and positioning: shares pulled back after a run to record highs and some large holders trimmed positions (e.g., Cathie Wood selling), increasing short‑term volatility risk. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Product/supply headwinds for Cybertruck: reports of a sharply reduced 4680 battery deal and a door‑safety probe add execution risk and may pressure margins or launch timelines. Read More. • Read More.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TSLA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. CICC Research increased their target price on shares of Tesla from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Tesla and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Sunday, December 7th. Baird R W upgraded Tesla from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald set a $510.00 price objective on Tesla and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and nine have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $414.50.

Tesla Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 299.81, a PEG ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 1.87. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $445.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $389.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $28.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.98 billion. Tesla had a net margin of 5.51% and a return on equity of 6.61%. The business’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tesla

In other news, Director Kimbal Musk sold 56,820 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.66, for a total value of $25,606,501.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,391,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $627,145,215.90. The trade was a 3.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,637 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $443.93, for a total value of $1,170,643.41. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,757 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,107,145.01. The trade was a 16.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 19.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Tesla by 0.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 252,386,304 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $112,241,237,000 after purchasing an additional 995,623 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in Tesla by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 113,762,849 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $50,592,614,000 after purchasing an additional 344,162 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Tesla by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 64,767,993 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $20,480,477,000 after buying an additional 1,269,304 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Tesla by 5.8% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 44,035,949 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $19,583,547,000 after buying an additional 2,403,019 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Tesla during the second quarter worth approximately $11,839,824,000. 66.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.