Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) just got slammed from all sidesand investors are scrambling to make sense of the wreckage. First, Q1 deliveries missed expectations by a mile, falling 13% year over yearthe steepest drop in Tesla's history. Then came the political aftershocks. Elon Musk's increasing ties to controversial political movements, including public support for Germany's far-right AfD party, sparked backlash across Europe. In Germany alone, March registrations dropped 43%, with some owners literally slapping I bought this before Elon went crazy stickers on their cars. If that wasn't enough, U.S. investors got hit with another curveball: fresh Trump-era tariffs that could drive car prices up and demand downfast.
Tesla stock bounced around all week, up on rumors Musk might back away from Dogecoin, then tumbling again, dropping by 5.7%, after Trump dropped the tariff hammer. These new levies34% on Chinese imports, 32% on Taiwansent shockwaves through tech. Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) fell 7.5%, Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) dropped 3.4% at 10.12am today and Wedbush called it worse than the worst-case scenario. For Tesla, it's a perfect storm: weak sales, political heat, and now higher costs that threaten the rollout of its upcoming lower-cost model and robotaxi service. Analysts are already slashing delivery forecasts for 2025 to 1.7 million unitsdown from 1.8 million last year.
All eyes now turn to April 22, when Tesla reports earnings. Investors will be looking for more than just numbers. They'll want clarity on the robotaxi timeline, how hard tariffs are hitting margins, and whether Musk's personal brand is becoming a liability. A lot's riding on the company's ability to pivot and executefast. Because right now, between the headlines and the hard data, Tesla's not just in a slumpit's in the hot seat.
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