Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Stock Price Down 1.7% – Should You Sell?

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s stock price was down 1.7% on Friday . The company traded as low as $345.20 and last traded at $348.75. Approximately 32,019,665 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 40% from the average session volume of 53,509,168 shares. The stock had previously closed at $354.81.

Tesla News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Tesla is expanding its robotaxi operation beyond Austin and Miami, with longer service hours and a larger unsupervised fleet. State regulators have also approved permits for Tesla to operate robotaxis, supporting the company’s strategy to monetize autonomous driving. Tesla robotaxi expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Tesla is preparing an August Cybercab rollout beginning with employee rides, while Cybercab production has reportedly started. Investors view the vehicle and robotaxi network as potential long-term revenue opportunities not yet fully reflected in the stock. Cybercab rollout
• Positive Sentiment: Optimus humanoid robot production has reportedly begun at Tesla’s Fremont facility, and the company is installing additional robotics manufacturing lines. The development strengthens the long-term artificial-intelligence and automation narrative, although meaningful financial benefits may take time. Optimus production
• Positive Sentiment: Commercial truckmaker Einride expects to receive approximately 75 Tesla Semi trucks in 2026, with the remainder of its 500-truck order scheduled for 2027. The timeline provides evidence of commercial demand, though deliveries will be spread over several years. Einride Tesla Semi order
• Neutral Sentiment: Tesla announced a September 24 Semi event that could provide updates on autonomous trucking and production plans, making it a potential catalyst but offering no immediate earnings impact. Tesla Semi event
• Negative Sentiment: Tesla is voluntarily recalling about 3 million vehicles in China over door handles that may fail after severe crashes and inadequate driver-attention monitoring. The recall adds regulatory, cost and reputational risks to the company’s autonomy push. Tesla China recall
• Negative Sentiment: Criticism intensified after a vehicle using Tesla’s latest FSD software reportedly nearly drove into a train, renewing concerns about system reliability and the gap between supervised assistance and fully autonomous driving. Tesla FSD incident
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and investors continue to question Tesla’s valuation because weak margins and traditional EV risks are not easily reconciled with a price-to-earnings ratio above 300. Toyota’s rising electrified-vehicle volume and broader EV competition further challenge Tesla’s automotive leadership.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TSLA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. DZ Bank upgraded Tesla from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Evercore upgraded Tesla from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Tesla in a research note on Monday, August 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $491.00 target price on shares of Tesla and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, BTIG Research lowered Tesla to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Tesla currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $401.74.

Tesla Trading Down 1.7%

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $360.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $385.15. The company has a market cap of $1.38 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 322.92, a P/E/G ratio of 17.61 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.55.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.17). Tesla had a net margin of 3.67% and a return on equity of 3.82%. The firm had revenue of $28.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.33 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Tesla, Inc. will post 0.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Tesla news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,606 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.20, for a total transaction of $1,048,133.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 22,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,864,085.80. The trade was a 10.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 19.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Chapman Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Tesla during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Friedenthal Financial boosted its stake in shares of Tesla by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 75 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Tesla in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX acquired a new stake in shares of Tesla during the third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Harborfront Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Tesla in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.20% of the company’s stock.

About Tesla

Tesla, Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) is an American company that designs, manufactures and sells electric vehicles, energy generation and energy storage products. Founded in 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, Tesla grew into a vertically integrated mobility and clean‑energy company with Elon Musk serving as its chief executive officer. The company’s stated mission is to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy, reflected in its combined focus on electric drivetrains, battery technology, renewable energy products and software.

Tesla’s automotive business includes a lineup of battery‑electric vehicles and related services.