Tesla shares retreated approximately 1.6% to $384.91 in early trading Thursday, giving back a portion of the previous session's sharp gains. The pullback came even as the broader S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average moved higher, underscoring stock-specific pressures on the electric vehicle maker.
Wednesday's rally saw Tesla surge about 7.4%, its strongest single-day advance since June 2025, amid a broader rebound in growth stocks. CEO Elon Musk also contributed to positive sentiment by posting an image of new Tesla chip hardware. Despite Thursday's dip, the stock remains up roughly 12.1% for the week, on track to break an eight-week losing streak that had erased about 16% of its value.
Q1 Earnings on the Horizon
Investor attention is now squarely on Tesla's first-quarter earnings report, scheduled for release on April 22. Wall Street consensus estimates call for earnings per share of $0.38, up from $0.27 in the same period last year. The anticipated increase is partly supported by higher vehicle deliveries, which rose to approximately 358,000 units in Q1 2025 from 337,000 a year earlier.
However, market participants are expected to focus less on near-term financials and more on management commentary regarding Tesla's artificial intelligence initiatives, including robo-taxis and humanoid robotics. These areas are seen as critical to justifying the company's roughly $1.6 trillion valuation, much of which is tied to expectations of future AI-driven earnings growth.
Cybertruck Demand Under Scrutiny
Separate data has raised questions about the strength of consumer demand for Tesla's Cybertruck. According to a Bloomberg report citing S&P Global Mobility data, SpaceX accounted for 1,279 Cybertruck registrations in the United States during the fourth quarter—more than 18% of the total 7,071 vehicles registered in that period. Other Musk-linked entities, including xAI, The Boring Company, and Neuralink, registered an additional 60 vehicles.
These internal purchases suggest that nearly one in five Cybertrucks registered during the quarter were sold within Musk's broader business network. Without these transactions, registrations would have declined by 51%, highlighting potential weakness in consumer demand less than two years after the vehicle's launch.
AI and Chip Ambitions Drive Valuation Narrative
Despite questions surrounding its core automotive business, Tesla's valuation continues to hinge on its progress in artificial intelligence. The company is expected to expand its robo-taxi service, first launched in Austin, Texas, in June, and to unveil a new generation of its Optimus humanoid robot. Progress on these initiatives is seen as critical to maintaining investor confidence.
Tesla is also taking early steps toward building out its semiconductor capabilities through its proposed "Terafab" initiative. Executives have approached suppliers including Applied Materials, Tokyo Electron, and Lam Research to gather pricing and delivery timelines for chipmaking equipment, according to a Bloomberg report. The effort spans a wide range of tools, including photomasks, substrates, etchers, deposition systems, and testing equipment.
Tesla has also sought support from Samsung Electronics, which instead reportedly proposed allocating additional manufacturing capacity at its planned facility in Taylor, Texas. Meanwhile, Intel has indicated it will participate in the initiative, with CEO Lip-Bu Tan sharing an image of Musk during a recent visit to the company's Santa Clara office.
For more on related market movements, see our coverage of Intel Stock Surges on Reports of Google, Nvidia Foundry Wins and Tesla Rebounds 3% as SpaceX IPO, China Sales, and JPMorgan Upgrade Fuel Recovery.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
