As of Friday, March 7, 2025, Tesla’s stock closed at $270.48, capping a brutal seven-week losing streak—the longest in its 15-year public history. Since Elon Musk joined Donald Trump’s administration in late January, shares have tumbled over 10% this week alone, sinking to their lowest since Election Day ($251.44 on November 5, 2024). From a December 17 peak near $480, Tesla’s lost over $800 billion in market cap, slashing its valuation to roughly $860 billion. Wall Street’s slashing price targets, and even diehard bulls are sweating—what’s driving this historic skid?
Sales Slump and Production Hiccups
The numbers don’t lie: Tesla’s electric vehicle (EV) sales are stalling. Bank of America axed its price target from $490 to $380, citing “falling new vehicle sales” and Musk’s silence on a promised low-cost model. Goldman Sachs, dropping its target from $345 to $320, flagged declining sales in Europe, China, and parts of the U.S. in early 2025—down 50% in Europe alone year-over-year, per the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.
Production woes compound the pain. Baird, adding Tesla to its “bearish fresh picks,” warned that “production downtime” during the Model Y refresh will snarl supply. In China, Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) faces a “tough competitive environment,” Goldman noted, with rivals like BYD offering free advanced driving tech—unlike Tesla’s $8,000 FSD add-on. X posts echo the sentiment: “No new models since Model Y, and competitors are eating Tesla’s lunch.”
Musk’s Trump Adventure: A Double-Edged Sword
Elon Musk’s plunge into Trump’s orbit as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is a lightning rod. Since January 20, he’s been the face of Trump’s push to gut federal spending and staff—slashing thousands of jobs and wielding unprecedented access to government systems. His X posts, bashing judges and parroting Kremlin lines on Ukraine, have fueled anti-Musk backlash. Protests and vandalism at Tesla sites in the U.S. and Europe—like a January 29 incident in Colorado—signal a brewing consumer revolt.
Baird analysts see “uncertainty to the demand-side” tied to Musk’s White House role. Cleantechnica, a longtime Tesla cheerleader, ran a piece Thursday questioning if owners should ditch their cars—or if the board should ditch Musk. “Musk’s politics are polarizing buyers,” one X user quipped, noting Democrats (per a 2023 Gallup poll) are far likelier EV buyers than Republicans.
Bulls Cling to Hope
Not everyone’s bailing. Wedbush’s Dan Ives, calling it a “gut check moment for Tesla bulls,” added Tesla to its “Best Ideas” list with a $550 target. “Trump in the White House is the best thing for Musk and Tesla,” he wrote, banking on deregulation to fast-track FSD, robotaxis, and affordable EVs by mid-2025. TD Cowen agrees, pegging Tesla for a “major 2025-26 product cycle” to revive growth. X bulls hype a “1000% gain in 5 years,” echoing Musk’s March 1 post—though skeptics retort, “Execution’s the catch.”
What’s Next for Tesla in 2025?
Tesla’s at a crossroads. Sales and production stumbles could drag shares toward $200 if China retaliates with tariffs—say, blocking FSD approval—over Musk’s Trump ties. Yet, Friday’s White House Crypto Summit might clarify DOGE’s deregulatory punch, potentially easing Tesla’s autonomous path. With Xiaomi’s SU7 Ultra and CoreWeave’s IPO grabbing MWC headlines, Tesla’s $270 floor is shaky. Will Musk refocus on Tesla, or is DOGE his new X-factor? Watch this week’s close for clues—$800 billion’s already gone.
