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Tesla (TSLA) shares are in the spotlight on Wednesday, April 2 after the EV giant reported its worst quarterly deliveries in more than two years.
The automaker based out of Austin, Texas delivered a total of 336,681 electric vehicles in the first quarter – sharply below the 365,000 that analysts had forecast.
Tesla’s Q1 deliveries demonstrate the damage to its reputation as CEO Elon Musk continues to engage in politics, said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, adding the report was “a disaster on every metric.”
Versus its year-to-date high, Tesla stock is down nearly 36% at the time of writing.
Is Tesla Stock Still a Good Long-Term Pick?
Tesla’s quarterly deliveries came in down about 13% on a year-over-year basis on Wednesday, but much of that weakness was broadly expected and didn’t come as a surprise for investors.
While the decline reiterates near-term challenges, it’s worth noting that Wall Street analysts remain positive on the EV stock for the longer term.
A senior Deepwater executive, Gene Munster, for example, continues to see artificial intelligence driving significant further upside in TSLA shares in the long run.
“What they’re doing around Optimus and robotaxis is the future of the company, and ultimately, investors will get behind that,” he told CNBC in a recent interview.
TSLA Revenue Growth to Accelerate in 2026
Munster expects Tesla to be hard pressed in growing its revenue “at all” this year, but recommends standing by the company nonetheless, as the metric could “accelerate back to the 35% clip” in 2026.
Plus, markets will eventually get used to Musk’s political activities, effectively freeing TSLA stock from a huge overhang, he argued in the CNBC interview.
Munster is bullish on Tesla shares also because the EV maker is strongly positioned to weather a new 25% tariff on all imported vehicles under President Donald Trump.
Analysts Continue to See Upside in Tesla
Despite deteriorating sales as evidenced in Tesla’s Q1 deliveries report today, analysts continue to bet on an eventual recovery in TSLA stock price in the coming months.
The consensus “Hold” rating on Tesla shares is tied to a mean target of about $331 at the time of writing, which indicates potential upside of nearly 17% from current levels.
