RBC Capital reiterated its Outperform rating on Tesla (TSLA, Financials) and held its price target at $320, despite expectations of lower deliveries in the first quarter of 2025. The reaffirmation comes as analysts at Stifel projected deliveries of approximately 364,000 vehicles.
The main reasons for the delivery shortfall are planned production stops in January and February for an update to the Model Y and possible buyers waiting to buy until the second quarter, when a cheaper model is expected to come out. So far this year, Tesla's stock price has dropped 30.5%.Weak performance around the world is also putting pressure on delivery estimates. People in China expect a 47.8% drop in sales in the first quarter compared to the previous quarter. This is because January and February numbers will be 57% lower than October and November numbers. Weekly insurance data from March shows that rates will continue to go down until the end of the quarter. Deliveries are expected to drop 19.9% from one quarter to the next in Europe. The first two months of the year saw a 33% drop.RBC said it is still confident in Tesla's long-term market position, even though its goal price went down. The company will officially report shipping numbers for the first quarter next week.Other experts also released new figures for delivery and price. Canaccord Genuity kept its "Buy" rating and set a price target of $404. It also changed its delivery estimate to 362,000 cars. Piper Sandler maintained an Overweight rating and a $450 goal, saying that the main problem is supply-side delays rather than problems with demand.The company is also being looked into by the FBI because of reports of violent threats. [b]The FBI has called it domestic terrorism, which makes Tesla's already high risks even higher.Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, recently admitted that taxes on imported cars have made things harder for the company. [/b]Piper Sandler said that new projects, like a base for robo-taxis, would help the company grow in the long run.