Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Stock Price Down 4.2% – Here’s Why

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s share price was down 4.2% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $417.44 and last traded at $419.25. Approximately 62,200,691 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 3% from the average daily volume of 64,264,199 shares. The stock had previously closed at $437.50.

Key Headlines Impacting Tesla

Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company revives Dojo/AI roadmap — Musk says Dojo3 will restart after progress on the AI5 chip, reinforcing Tesla’s push into proprietary AI compute and robotaxi potential. This supports the long-term bull case that Tesla is more than an auto OEM. Dojo3 Revival
• Positive Sentiment: Trade policy shift could benefit Tesla — Canada’s decision to relax tariffs on China-built EVs should help Tesla (already shipping from Shanghai to Canada and with a retail footprint there), improving near-term addressable markets. Canada Tariff Story
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street support and high-profile bulls remain — Piper Sandler reaffirmed an Overweight rating with a $500 target and Cathie Wood continues to back the robotaxi thesis even as she trims exposure, keeping a base of institutional support. Piper Sandler Note
• Neutral Sentiment: MarketBeat roundup: stock sits on a knife-edge before earnings — broad investor debate (bulls point to software/AI upside; bears cite stretched valuation) makes the upcoming results a high-leverage event.
• Neutral Sentiment: Social and analyst chatter is polarized — online sentiment highlights excitement about AI/robotaxi upside but also worries about slowing EV demand and mixed analyst price targets, keeping volatility elevated. QuiverQuant Discussion
• Negative Sentiment: Macro-driven tech selloff — President Trump’s tariff/Greenland rhetoric spurred a broad selloff in large-cap tech, hitting TSLA alongside other AI/semiconductor names. Market Selloff
• Negative Sentiment: Musk’s public tweets/polls and a spat with Ryanair’s CEO increased short-term volatility — high-profile social-media moves have coincided with intraday price moves and negative headlines. Musk / Ryanair Spat
• Negative Sentiment: FSD monetization and licensing questions — reports that other automakers prefer in‑house autonomy and Tesla’s decision to end free FSD transfers have raised doubts about near-term margin and subscription growth. FSD Licensing Concerns Free FSD Transfer Ending
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation / analyst friction — some firms remain bearish or have low targets, and Tesla’s high P/E leaves little room for disappointment ahead of earnings; that divergence amplifies downside risk. Analyst Views

Analyst Ratings Changes

TSLA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. China Renaissance boosted their target price on Tesla from $349.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on Tesla in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $307.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Morgan Stanley set a $425.00 target price on shares of Tesla and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 7th. Finally, Glj Research reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $25.28 price target (up from $19.05) on shares of Tesla in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and nine have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Tesla currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $410.20.

Tesla Trading Down 4.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 2.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.39 trillion, a PE ratio of 279.50, a P/E/G ratio of 7.44 and a beta of 1.83. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $443.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $400.89.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.02. Tesla had a net margin of 5.51% and a return on equity of 6.61%. The firm had revenue of $28.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Tesla

In other news, Director James R. Murdoch sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $257,009,607.40. This trade represents a 9.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,637 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,107,145.01. This trade represents a 16.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 119,457 shares of company stock valued at $53,501,145. Corporate insiders own 19.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BXM Wealth LLC increased its stake in Tesla by 345.4% during the 4th quarter. BXM Wealth LLC now owns 7,287 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $3,277,000 after purchasing an additional 5,651 shares in the last quarter. CV Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Tesla by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. CV Advisors LLC now owns 4,118 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $1,852,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Tesla by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 19,855 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $8,929,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. BAM Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Tesla by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. BAM Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,486 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $668,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC lifted its position in Tesla by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,610 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $699,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. 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.