The recent fourth-quarter delivery figures from Tesla Inc have sparked intense debate among key analysts and influencers on Wall Street. The company’s delivery numbers missed consensus estimates, leading to a significant decline in stock price.
Analyst Takes
Daniel Ives on TSLA
Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives, a prominent Tesla bull, shared his perspective on the company’s fourth-quarter delivery figures. Despite the numbers being below expectations, Ives remains optimistic about Tesla’s growth prospects in 2025.
“TSLA announced its Q4 delivery numbers of 495.6k vehicles, below the Street’s whisper number of ~500k. While knee-jerk stock will be down, we view these as respectable numbers with all of our focus on the 2025 growth story and autonomous vision. Buyers today on any sell-off.”
Ives maintained an Outperform rating on Tesla with a $515 price target.
Ross Gerber on TSLA
Ross Gerber, CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management, had a differing opinion. He expressed disappointment with Tesla’s numbers, stating that the company used every discount available to move vehicles and still fell short.
“Excuses. They used every discount they had to move vehicles and still couldn’t. These Tesla numbers suck. No spin. Sorry.”
Gerber also criticized Tesla’s FSD v13, saying it doesn’t compare to Waymo’s technology.
Gene Munster on TSLA
Gene Munster, co-founder of Deepwater Asset Management, downplayed the significance of Tesla’s missed delivery estimates. He emphasized that the long-term investment case for the stock remains intact.
“While Elon is focusing investors on autonomy, EV’s still matter given those cars are the foundation of autonomy.”
Munster noted that the delivery figure missed the Street consensus by around 1%.
The Delivery Figures
- Tesla produced 459,445 vehicles and delivered 495,570 vehicles in the fourth quarter.
- The delivery figure missed a Street consensus estimate of 506,763 units.
- Tesla’s full-year delivery total is now 1.79 million units for 2024, down from a record 1.81 million in 2023.
TSLA Price Action
Tesla stock was down 6% to $379.28 on Thursday, versus a 52-week trading range of $138.80 to $488.54. Tesla stock was up around 62% in 2024.
Conclusion
The comments from Ives, Gerber, and Munster highlight the importance of 2025 in getting Tesla back on track with vehicle growth and other upcoming catalysts. As the company navigates this critical period, investors will be closely watching Tesla’s progress and adjusting their expectations accordingly.