Tesla Stock Slides Tuesday as Tariffs Take Effect, BofA Drops Price Target

Tesla (TSLA) shares fell Tuesday, extending recent losses amid worries about tariffs, weak Chinese sales, and souring brand sentiment, with analysts at Bank of America lowering their price target for the stock.

The electric vehicle maker’s stock dropped over 4% to close at $272.04, and has lost about a third of its value since the start of the year.

The Trump administration’s tariffs on Canada and Mexico, which went into effect Tuesday, “pose significant risk” to North American automakers including Tesla, Bank of America analysts said.

Declining European sales have also put pressure on the stock, they said, along with “sentiment on the brand potentially souring” as CEO Elon Musk has made headlines for his role in the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency. Sales of Tesla’s China-made vehicles have slipped as well, falling 49.2% year-over-year in February, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing data from the China Passenger Car Association.

BofA reiterated a “neutral” rating for the stock, but lowered its price target to $380 from $490, just slightly above the average of analysts polled by Visible Alpha at $368.

The drop comes just a day after Morgan Stanley named the company its “Top Pick” in the U.S. automobile sector, saying Tesla’s lower-than-expected deliveries were “not particularly narrative changing.”

UPDATE—March 4, 2025: This article has been updated since it was first published to reflect more recent share price values.