HSBC Has Lowered Expectations for Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Stock Price

Key Points

• HSBC cut its Tesla price target to $123 (from $127), implying about a 67% downside from the current share price.
• Analysts are split: the consensus rating is "Hold" with an average target of $398.45, while 18 firms rate Tesla Buy, 15 Hold and 8 Sell, reflecting wide divergence in views.
• Tesla slightly beat Q1 EPS and showed revenue growth and surprise positive free cash flow, but its plan to spend over $25 billion on AI, chips and robotics has raised near‑term cash‑flow and execution concerns among investors.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) had its price target decreased by research analysts at HSBC from $127.00 to $123.00 in a report issued on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. HSBC's price objective points to a potential downside of 66.99% from the company's current price.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on TSLA. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Tesla from $480.00 to $465.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Phillip Securities lowered their price objective on Tesla from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Wednesday. Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Tigress Financial started coverage on shares of Tesla in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $550.00 target price on the stock. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and eight have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $398.45.

Tesla Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TSLA opened at $372.66 on Thursday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $386.76 and its 200 day moving average is $421.29. Tesla has a 12 month low of $249.20 and a 12 month high of $498.83. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market capitalization of $1.40 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 342.86, a PEG ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 1.91.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $22.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.96 billion. Tesla had a return on equity of 4.96% and a net margin of 3.95%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.27 EPS. Research analysts predict that Tesla will post 1.37 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 25,809 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $359.33, for a total transaction of $9,273,947.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 33,860 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,166,913.80. The trade was a 43.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,264 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.03, for a total value of $898,875.92. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,106 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,188,625.18. This represents a 11.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 53,804 shares of company stock valued at $20,865,598. 19.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Tesla

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Tesla by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 87,929 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $35,509,000 after acquiring an additional 9,293 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Tesla by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,317 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $2,147,000 after buying an additional 931 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Tesla by 52.2% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 10,368 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $4,187,000 after acquiring an additional 3,558 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Tesla by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 12,135 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $3,855,000 after buying an additional 1,011 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AGP Franklin LLC lifted its holdings in Tesla by 21.2% in the second quarter. AGP Franklin LLC now owns 4,861 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $1,544,000 after acquiring an additional 851 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.20% of the company's stock.

Tesla News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat on EPS and surprise positive free cash flow gives near-term support to TSLA; investors point to profitability resilience despite softer vehicle demand. Tesla reports surprise positive free cash flow
• Positive Sentiment: Elon Musk says Tesla has begun pilot production of Cybercab robotaxis and shared video of an occupant-less vehicle — a tangible milestone for the autonomy/robotaxi narrative that supports longer-term upside. Elon Musk says Tesla has started producing cybecabs
• Positive Sentiment: Tesla’s share in California new‑car registrations jumped to ~56% in Q1 — a sign the company still holds market strength in its largest U.S. EV market. Tesla's California market share soars to 56% in Q1 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Intel/Tesla Terafab disclosure (plans to use Intel’s 14A process) reduces some chip‑supply uncertainty for Tesla’s in‑house AI chip ambitions and helped chip partners rally. Elon Musk lays out Terafab AI chip project plan
• Neutral Sentiment: Next‑gen A15 AI chip tape‑out clears a technical milestone for Tesla’s compute roadmap, but manufacturing and scale remain the bigger near‑term questions. This Is What Tesla Inc. (TSLA) A15 Chip Tape-out Means
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts are split: some firms (TD Cowen, Cantor, Canaccord) reiterated/upgraded ratings and raised targets, while others stuck to neutral or trimmed targets — providing both support and friction in the stock. Benzinga coverage of analyst moves
• Negative Sentiment: Tesla warned it will spend more than $25 billion this year on AI, chips and robotics — investors fear a sharp capex ramp will push cash flow negative for 2026 and compress near‑term returns. That announcement has been the primary sell catalyst since the earnings call. Tesla's $25 billion spending plan tests investor faith
• Negative Sentiment: Musk acknowledged older HW3 vehicles won’t achieve unsupervised FSD without upgrades — a costly retrofit promise for owners and a reputational/headline risk for Tesla. Elon Musk admits millions of Tesla owners need upgrades for true ‘Full Self-Driving'
• Negative Sentiment: Timelines for robotaxi / Optimus commercialization were softened or removed in the Q1 filing and call; analysts warned rollout is slower than hoped — increasing execution risk versus the premium valuation. Musk sounds cautious tone on robotaxis amid slower-than-expected rollout
• Negative Sentiment: A brief, vague SEC‑filed ~ $2B AI/hardware acquisition disclosure (no company named) added uncertainty about what Tesla bought and its near‑term impact on financials. Tesla slips one-sentence disclosure of a mysterious $2 billion AI hardware acquisition

Tesla Company Profile

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.

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