Wedbush analyst Dan Ives has weighed in on Tesla’s recent Q1 delivery figures, which fell short of expectations, revealing a total of 336,681 vehicles delivered. This number contrasts sharply with Wall Street’s forecast of 352,000 and the more optimistic whisper estimates around 350,000. While the initial impression might suggest a significant setback, Tesla attributed part of this underperformance to a loss of “several weeks of production” as it ramped up the new Model Y across all four of its manufacturing facilities.
Tesla (TSLA) reports 336,681 vehicle deliveries for Q1 2025
In addition to production delays, Ives pointed to external factors, including CEO Elon Musk’s increasing involvement in U.S. government affairs, which has reportedly led to some market pushback. While the precise impact of these elements remains uncertain, Ives candidly stated that Wedbush could not view the results through “rose-colored glasses,” describing the performance as “a disaster on every metric.”
Ives emphasized that the current situation represents a pivotal moment for Musk: “The Street and us knew a bad 1Q was coming but this was even worse than expected. The time has come for Musk….it’s a fork in the road moment. The more political he gets with DOGE the more the brand suffers, there is no debate. This quarter was an example of the damage Musk is causing Tesla. This continues to be a moment of truth for Musk to navigate this brand tornado crisis moment and get onto the other side of this dark chapter for Tesla with much better days ahead.”
Following the delivery report, Tesla’s stock initially dropped over 5 percent but quickly rebounded by 8 percent, currently trading up over 5 percent at 3.01. This recovery coincided with a report from Politico suggesting that Musk and former President Donald Trump have discussed the possibility of Musk stepping back from his role in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). This development appears to have reassured investors, who seem eager for Musk to refocus on Tesla and its initiatives.
Despite the challenges, Ives remains optimistic about Tesla’s future, particularly regarding its advancements in robotaxi technology and Full Self-Driving capabilities. He noted: “Autonomous remains the biggest transformation to the auto industry in modern-day history and in our view, Tesla will own the autonomous market in the US and globally with the launch of unsupervised FSD in Austin kicking off the autonomous era at Tesla that we value at trillion alone on a sum-of-the-parts valuation…”
However, he also cautioned that Musk must find a balance between his responsibilities with DOGE and leading Tesla: “BUT…Musk needs to stop this political firestorm and balance being CEO of Tesla with DOGE. The future is so bright but this is a full blown crisis Tesla is navigating now and it’s primarily self-inflicted. We remain firmly bullish on the long-term Tesla story but Musk needs to get his act together or else unfortunately darker times are ahead for Tesla.”
