US auto stocks tumbled. Stellantis plunged 11%, Tesla down 6%, GM down 5%, Ford down 4%.

President Donald Trump's dramatic tariff pause isn't stopping Wall Street downgrades and price-target cuts in the auto industry.

The reason? The pause didn't apply to cars.

"I have authorized a 90-day PAUSE, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff rate during this period or 10%, also effect immediately," the president wrote on in a social-media post Wednesday.

The S&P 500 added 9.5%. Car stocks gained, too. Tesla shares added almost 23%. Ford Motor stock was down early but rallied to close 9.3% higher. General Motors and Stellantis shares gained 7.7% and 18.6%. Lucid Group and Rivian Automotive shares added 9.9% and 9%, respectively. Foreign auto maker shares joined in. Toyota Motor and Honda Motor's U.S.-listed American depositary receipts rose 9.3% and 9.5%, respectively.

However, all those companies still face 25% import tariffs on new vehicle imports and, eventually, car part imports, according to the White House. About half the new cars sold in the U.S. are assembled outside the country. Half the parts on some popular models assembled in the U.S. could be imported as well.

With the tariff on imported cars in place, Wall Street has begun to take down numbers and ratings.

On Thursday, Goldman Sachs analyst Mark Delaney downgraded Ford stock to Hold from Buy. His price target went to $9 from $11. Weaker consumer demand and higher tariff costs were two of his reasons.

Delaney kept his Buy rating on GM stock but cut his price target to $63 from $73. He said it would be difficult for the industry to pass on tariff costs.

UBS analyst Joseph Spak downgraded GM stock to Hold from Buy. His price target went to $51 from $64. He estimates GM's annual headwind from the tariffs could be $5 billion annually. Before tariffs were implemented, Wall Street expected GM to generate a 2025 operating profit of almost $14 billion.

Spak also trimmed his Ford price target to $9 from $10. He rates Ford stock Hold.

With the changes, 55% of analysts covering GM stock have Buy ratings, according to FactSet. The average Buy-rating ratio for stocks in the S&P 500 is about 55%. The average analyst price target for GM stock is about $58.50, down only about $1 since the start of 2025.

One in five, or 20%, of analysts covering Ford stock have Buy ratings. The average analyst price target is about $9.50, down almost $2 since the start of the year.

Ford and GM stocks have each lost two Buy ratings in recent weeks, according to FactSet. They have each picked up a Sell rating, too.