Tesla third-quarter earnings missed expectations , and plenty of analysts see a tricky path for the electrical car maker forward. Shares slipped 3% after the electrical car maker reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of fifty cents per share, lacking the 54 cents per share analysts polled by LSEG had forecast. Nonetheless, Tesla’s income got here in at $28.10 billion, exceeding the anticipated $26.37 billion. Automotive income additionally jumped 6% 12 months over 12 months to $21.2 billion from $20 billion. Gross sales elevated within the final quarter, as many purchasers pulled their purchases ahead earlier than the expiration of federal tax credit for electrical automobiles. Going ahead, analysts are watching to see how demand fare within the face of those expirations, alongside greater tariff prices. Analysts additionally indicated they proceed monitoring the corporate’s progress to scale its Robotaxi enterprise. Morgan Stanley’s Adam Jonas, one of many greatest Tesla bulls, stays undeterred. He famous that Tesla “is navigating a dignified exit from the steering-wheel-having auto enterprise whereas sustaining a resilient FCF profile.” Here is what a few of Wall Avenue’s greatest retailers needed to say on the report. Wells Fargo: underweight ranking, $120 worth goal Analyst Colin Langan’s goal implies about 73% draw back from Wednesday’s shut. “An array of guarantees got for 2026 together with robots, semitruck ramps in 2H26, & totally autonomous cybercabs in 2Q’26. We stay UW because the core biz is deteriorating & Robotaxi/Optimus probably take longer to scale.” UBS: promote ranking, $247 goal The financial institution’s worth goal is roughly 44% under Wednesday’s shut. “We bought little or no else when it comes to near-term outlook. This was probably purposeful. In our view, TSLA is navigating the transition from EV maker to AI firm. However for the close to time period, the numbers are the auto/vitality enterprise. Thus, we anticipate Musk and TSLA to proceed to speak up the longer term alternatives (notably main up the November sixth shareholder assembly). We do anticipate progress updates over the approaching 12 months and thru a valuation unique lens (i.e. does it feed the narrative) these are prone to be extra constructive than not. Nonetheless, we imagine the present market cap already offers ~ $900bn of worth to the AI ventures.” Jefferies: maintain ranking, $300 goal Jefferies’ forecast corresponds to draw back of round 32%. “Slight EBIT/margin miss after $238m of varied non-recurring costs. Very comfy beat on FCF helped by a $2.1bn WC influx in line with Q3 destock whereas capex of $2.2bn stays at development stage. The present Auto enterprise not drives valuation however continues (with storage and ZEV revenue) to generate extra FCF than is now wanted to fund future developments. No main information or announcement on the Q & A.” Barclays: equal weight ranking, $350 goal Barclays’ goal requires 20% draw back going ahead. “Tesla missed on 3Q EPS, nevertheless it would not matter. As a result of what’s more and more clear and understood is that the auto enterprise is just not the longer term emphasis for Tesla. Somewhat the main target forward stays on Tesla’s progress endeavors in AI — autonomous and robots.” Goldman Sachs: impartial ranking, $400 goal Analyst Mark Delaney’s forecast is 9% under Tesla’s Wednesday closing worth. “We stay Impartial rated on the inventory. Long term, we anticipate Tesla to develop its EPS extra meaningfully pushed partly by bigger contributions from autonomy and robotics, though our base case expectation for income in these areas is extra measured than the corporate is concentrating on given our expectations for market dimension/timing and competitors.” Morgan Stanley: obese ranking, $410 goal Analyst Adam Jonas’ worth goal was about 7% decrease than Tesla’s closing worth on Wednesday. “Margins in line whereas $4bn FCF 3x cons. Shrug. Tesla is navigating a dignified exit from the steering-wheel-having auto enterprise whereas sustaining a resilient FCF profile. Going ahead, TSLA is tied to Elon’s capacity to ‘steal the fireplace’ on autonomy within the face of competitors from Magazine 7 & past.” Deutsche Financial institution: purchase ranking, $440 goal Deutsche Financial institution’s goal of $440, raised from $435 per share, equates to an upside of lower than 1%. “Following 3Q25 earnings, we make largely minor modifications to our monetary mannequin and imagine the main target stays on robotaxi and humanoid. Elon Musk is clearly dialed in at Tesla and the passing of the compensation package deal shall be vital in guaranteeing that continues. Excessive stage, robotaxi and Optimus are each progressing slower than desired however v14 ought to sign an inflection in FSD and Tesla could finally show to be the one Western firm able to manufacturing humanoids at scale.” ( Study the perfect 2026 methods from contained in the NYSE with Josh Brown and others at CNBC PRO Stay. Tickets and information right here . )
