Goldman Sachs has trimmed its third-quarter delivery forecast for Tesla to 435,000 vehicles from 490,000, citing weak monthly and weekly sales data from China, the United States and Europe. The revised estimate is below the Wall Street consensus of 456,000 deliveries tracked by Visible Alpha. Goldman analyst Mark Delaney kept a Neutral rating and a $360 price target, while also lowering the fourth-quarter forecast to 475,000 from 515,000 — still above the consensus estimate of 462,000.
Tesla shares closed at $356.58, down roughly 20% year-to-date, with a market capitalization near $1.41 trillion. Fifteen analysts have lowered earnings estimates for the upcoming period. The company’s most recent results showed revenue of $28.24 billion, up 25.5% year over year and above the $26.42 billion estimate, but adjusted EPS of $0.33 missed the $0.50 consensus. The average analyst price target is $414.68, with the overall consensus at Hold. CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,606 shares on September 8 at an average price of $360.13, totaling $938,498, linked to tax obligations on vesting equity awards. Institutional investors own 66.2% of Tesla, with Waverly Advisors cutting its position by 12.1% while Nykredit A/S opened a new position worth roughly $262 million.
Separately, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has sent Tesla a formal letter demanding answers by September 30 about how the company self-certified its steering-wheel-free Cybercab robotaxi. The vehicle launched commercially in Austin, Texas, on September 3 with no steering wheel, brake pedal, accelerator pedal or mirrors. NHTSA is asking whether the Cybercab can be driven by a human using temporary controls, alongside questions about maximum speed, geographic limits, time-of-day restrictions and touchscreen vehicle movement. Tesla stock was roughly flat in premarket trading at $357 following the inquiry. The automaker has not responded to requests for comment.
