If you’ve watched the news over the past few months, you might have come to believe that Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, was essentially President Donald Trump’s “right-hand man.” Trump put Musk in charge of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and Musk used the platform seemingly every day to cut costs — and jobs — from the government.
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But the tide has turned as of late, with Trump unleashing sweeping tariffs on imports from nearly every country in the world. And while Tesla remains a brand made in the U.S., it imports a large number of its parts.
As Musk himself posted on X in response to the tariffs, “Important to note that Tesla is NOT unscathed here. The tariff impact on Tesla is still significant.”
In fact, some analysts put the hit to Tesla earnings at as much as $3 billion, according to Barron’s — a huge amount for a company expected to earn $8.3 billion in 2025. With the stock already down over 38% on a year-to-date basis, is it time to “buy the dip,” or not? Here’s what analysts have to say.
Next, find out what your Tesla investment would be worth if you’d bought in when Musk took over.
On April 7, Dan Ives of Wedbush “threw in the towel” on Tesla after staunchly supporting the stock historically, according to Barron’s. Ives said the double-whammy of Musk’s focus on Washington instead of Tesla and the Trump administration’s tariffs have caused him to change his view.
While still a believer in Tesla, with a “buy” rating, Ives dropped his price target to $315 from $550, a significant shift in sentiment. According to Ives, while not being directly affected by the import tariffs, as an American auto brand, Tesla will pay the price for all of the parts it imports from China.
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Andres Sheppard, Cantor Fitzgerald
On March 19, Andres Sheppard of Cantor Fitzgerald jumped in to reiterate his “overweight” rating on Tesla, with a $425 price target.
Sheppard feels that the tariffs might actually work to Tesla’s advantage, as it has a competitive edge over foreign-based automakers when it comes to production and parts. The “polarizing politics” that have hurt the company in Q1 should subside, according to Sheppard.
When Tesla reported Q1 deliveries were far below expectation, most Wall Street analysts were caught off guard and began lowering their price targets. Joseph Spak at UBS, however, was one of the few analysts expecting bad things out of Tesla.
