Tesla Shares Drop as Analysts Lower Price Target on Risks

Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) shares tumbled more than 6% after Baird analysts cut their price objective for the electric vehicle company to $370 from $440, citing several near-term hurdles.

Analysts flagged potential risks in Tesla's first-quarter car deliveries data, citing production delays with the Model Y facelift.  The consensus estimate for Q1 deliveries is 437,500 automobiles.

Another source of concern was CEO Elon Musk's increased political involvement, which included his leadership of the Trump administration's new cost-cutting organization, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). 

"Production downtime associated with the Model Y refresh complicates the supply-side of the equation while at the same time, Musk's involvement with the Trump administration adds uncertainty to the demand-side," Baird stated in a letter to customers.

They maintained their 'Outperform' rating on Tesla, which traded down 6.4% to around $261 on Thursday afternoon.