Al Root

Tesla stock was falling in early trading after a five-day rally took shares from about $225 to $288, up 28%.

Next up for investors: First-quarter deliveries and tariffs.

Shares of the electric vehicle maker were down 1.4% in premarket trading at $283.91, while S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were each falling around 0.1%.

Shares rose 3.5% on Tuesday despite new sales data that showed Tesla sales fell 40% year over year in February, leaving them down 43% so far this year.

Investors are debating how much of the decline is related to any backlash from CEO Elon Musk's political activities and how much is related to the Model Y changeover. Tesla recently introduced an updated version of the Y and is ramping up production of the new version.

The next significant sales data point should come on April 2, when Tesla reports first-quarter delivery results. Wall Street is looking for 414,000 vehicles sold, according to FactSet. That's likely a little too high. Not every analyst updates numbers with the same frequency. The most recent estimates are closer to 360,000 vehicles. Tesla sold about 387,000 cars in the first quarter of 2024.

April 2 is also the day President Donald Trump's 25% import tariffs on Canada and Mexico are set to go into effect. Tesla makes the cars it sells in the U.S. domestically, but it sources parts from Canada and Mexico.

Still, it's relatively less exposed to tariffs than other U.S. auto makers.

"We consider Tesla the least exposed to the tariffs, noting that it was named the 'most American-made car company' from 2022 to 2024 by Cars.com, " wrote CFRA analyst Garrett Nelson on Tuesday. "Tesla has largely regionalized auto production and deliveries by establishing a manufacturing presence and sourcing parts across the three major markets of the U.S., Europe, and Asia."

He rates Tesla stock Buy and has a $385 price target.

Overall, 51% of analysts covering Tesla stock rate shares Buy, according to FactSet. The average Buy-rating ratio for stocks in the S&P 500 is about 55%. The average analyst price target for Tesla stock is about $366 a share.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com

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March 26, 2025 05:21 ET (09:21 GMT)

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