A dramatic 50 percent plunge in Tesla stock since December has rattled investors, leading analysts at JPMorgan to write, “We struggle to think of anything analogous in the history of the automotive industry, in which a brand has lost so much value so quickly.”
Forbes reports that Elon Musk’s Tesla, the EV giant whose reputation has always been intertwined with that of its celebrity CEO, has suffered its share price plummeting by over 50 percent since hitting an all-time high in mid-December 2024. This steep decline has erased more than $800 billion in market value and sent shockwaves through the investment community. JPMorgan analysts have struggled to find a comparable moment in automotive history, stating, “We struggle to think of anything analogous in the history of the automotive industry, in which a brand has lost so much value so quickly.”
The closest examples, according to JPMorgan, were when Japanese and Korean car brands lost sales amid “diplomatic disputes” with China in 2012 and 2017, respectively. However, they noted that those cases were “confined to a single market, whereas the decline in Tesla sales in 2025 is not specific to any one nation or geography.” JPMorgan analysts cut their price target on Tesla by about 41 percent from $230.58 to $135, lowering guidance on vehicle deliveries for the first quarter of 2025 to about 355,000 — an 8 percent year-over-year decrease from the first quarter of 2024.
This steep drop has come as Tesla experiences a global decline in sales and branding issues stemming from competition, mixed consumer reactions to EVs, and Musk’s own politics. Breitbart News recently reported on Tesla’s massive drop in sales in many key markets:
Bloomberg reports that Tesla is facing a troubling global sales slump as recent data reveals steep declines across multiple key markets. In China, the company’s wholesale deliveries fell to their lowest level in more than 2.5 years, with February shipments plunging 49 percent year-over-year to just 30,688 vehicles, according to China’s Passenger Car Association.
The downturn extends well beyond China. In Germany, Tesla registrations collapsed 76 percent to 1,429 cars in February, while Australia reported an equally concerning 71.9 percent drop with just 1,592 units sold compared to 5,665 in the same month last year. European markets show a similar pattern, with sales for February falling 50 percent in Norway, 42 percent in Sweden, and 48 percent in Denmark—all countries considered EV adoption leaders.
Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in a note on Monday that Tesla shares had fallen because of “sales data, negative brand sentiment, and market de-grossing” but that they still saw a buying opportunity for the company. “Today, with the stock down 50 percent, our investor conversations are focused on management distraction, brand degradation, and lost auto sales,” analysts said.
Despite the company’s losses, Tesla remains the most valuable car company in the world, with Toyota, the second most valuable automaker, having a market cap of $292 billion. Morgan Stanley analysts noted several “catalysts” in the company’s pipeline, including Tesla’s robotaxi, expected to hit Austin roads later this summer, and another demonstration of Optimus, the humanoid robot anticipated before the end of the year. However, expectations for Tesla’s delivery timelines may have to be tempered, given that the CEO has a history of missing his own deadlines.
Read more at Forbes here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
