Wall Street Slashes Tesla Price Targets After Its Q2 Miss, but Few Are Backing Away

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By Vandita Jadeja Published

Quick Read

  • Tesla beat Q2 revenue estimates by 7% on record deliveries but missed EPS by 38%, erasing $71 billion in market cap after hours.

  • GM's 16th straight earnings beat and Rivian's scale deficit both show why Tesla's premium must be justified by AI, not car economics.

  • 24/7 Wall St. rates TSLA a BUY at $413.49 but advises staying sidelined if operating margin fails to recover above 5% by year-end.

  • Act now: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and Tesla didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today.

Wall Street Slashes Tesla Price Targets After Its Q2 Miss, but Few Are Backing Away

© 2025 Tesla Model Y RWD in Midnight Silver Metallic, front right (BY-SA 4.0) by Ethan Llamas

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA | TSLA Price Prediction) delivered a split-decision quarter: a big revenue beat wrapped around an ugly EPS miss. Wall Street trimmed price targets without walking away from the story. Our model comes out constructive.

Tesla trades at $374.01 after a roughly 4% after-hours slide that erased $71 billion in market cap. Our 24/7 Wall St. price target is $413.49, implying 10.56% upside over twelve months. The recommendation is buy with 90% confidence level confidence.

An infographic titled 'TESLA (TSLA) • NASDAQ 12-Month Price Prediction OUR PRICE TARGET' by 24/7 Wall St., with data as of July 23, 2026. The main call shows an arrow pointing from $374.01 to a 'BUY' recommendation at $413.49, indicating +10.56% upside, with a High (90%) confidence level. A section 'HOW WE GOT THERE' shows a 'Weighted Valuation Blend' box with Analyst Consensus ($425.22, 30% weight), Forward P/E-Based Price ($378.39), and Trailing P/E-Based Price ($374.01), leading to a 'Final Weighted Base Price' of $391.56. An 'OUR ADJUSTMENTS' section shows a bar chart starting at $391.56, with a green bar for 'Bullish Analyst Positioning & Earnings Momentum' and a red bar for 'Volatility Penalty (Beta 1.8),' plus 'Market Cap Dampener (50% Applied),' resulting in $413.49. 'BULL CASE' lists three positive factors and a 'BULL TARGET: $479.66 (+28.25% RETURN).' 'BEAR CASE' lists three negative factors and a 'BEAR TARGET: $365.83 (-2.19% DECLINE).' The 'THE BOTTOM LINE' reiterates 'BUY $413.49 (+10.56%)' and states, 'Q2 showed demand strength with record deliveries, but aggressive spending on AI and Optimus compressed margins, presenting both growth opportunity and execution risk.'
24/7 Wall St.
Metric Value
Current Price $374.01
24/7 Wall St. Price Target $413.49
Upside 10.56%
Recommendation BUY
Confidence 90%

A Record Quarter That Cost $71 Billion

Tesla posted $28.24 billion in Q2 revenue, up 25.52% year over year and beating consensus by 7.10%, on record deliveries of 480,126 vehicles.

Non-GAAP EPS of $0.33 missed the $0.5367 estimate by 38.51%, operating margin compressed to 1.4%, and free cash flow flipped to negative $1.09 billion as capex surged to $5.79 billion. Shares are down 5.18% this week and 16.83% year to date, though up 12.62% over the past year.

TSLA earnings explorer

Why Bulls See a Breakout Ahead

The bull case rests on Tesla’s transition to an AI and robotics platform. FSD attach rates on North American deliveries exceeded 55%, with 1.48 million active subscriptions (up 56% YoY).

TSLA price target

Cybercab production has begun at Gigafactory Texas, robotaxi service covers seven US metros, and Optimus lines are installed at Fremont. Energy storage deployments jumped to 13.5 GWh. Our bull scenario points to $479.66 within twelve months, a 28.25% return.

The Risks Worth Watching

The bear case flips the spending story. Operating income fell 56.88% YoY, opex jumped 47%, and regulatory credits collapsed to $146 million. Reddit sentiment tracked bearish (24 to 36) after the earnings report. Multiple analysts slashed the price target after earnings. 

Bulls counter that margin damage is self-inflicted, with heavy AI infrastructure and stock-based comp from the 2025 CEO Performance Award weighing on GAAP profits, while operating cash flow rose 84.9% to $4.70 billion and cash swelled to $43.52 billion. Our bear scenario lands at $365.83, a 2.19% decline.

TSLA prediction tug of war

How Tesla Compares to GM and Rivian

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is the anti-Tesla trade. GM posted its 16th consecutive earnings beat, with adjusted earnings up 41.3% and raised full-year 2026 guidance, plus roughly 75 million shares retired in the past year. That execution at a fraction of Tesla’s 370 P/E is why our $413.49 target must earn its premium through AI optionality, not vehicle economics.

Rivian (NASDAQ:RIVN) is the pure-play EV comp fighting for scale. Rivian lacks Tesla’s 480,126-unit quarterly cadence and $43.52 billion cash pile, making Tesla’s balance sheet look conservative and supporting our target as reasonable rather than aggressive.

Tesla Price Prediction 2026 to 2030

TSLA price scenario

Our 24/7 Wall St. price target for Tesla is $413.49, a buy with 90% confidence. Q2 shows demand strength (record deliveries, revenue beat) with misses concentrated in discretionary AI and Optimus spending Tesla chose to accelerate.

I’d buy here if capex converts into robotaxi and Optimus revenue on the 2027 timeline management outlined. I’d stay on the sidelines if operating margin fails to recover above 5% by year-end.

Year 24/7 Wall St. Price Target
2026 $413.49
2027 $445.00
2028 $475.00
2029 $505.00
2030 $538.14

These projections assume Tesla executes on robotaxi monetization and Optimus reaches commercial scale. Significant upside or downside could result from FSD adoption curves and margin recovery pace.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

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About the Author Vandita Jadeja →

Vandita Jadeja is a financial copywriter who loves to read and write about stocks. She believes in buying and holding for long term gains. Her knowledge of words and numbers helps her write clear stock analysis. She has contributed to several publications, including the Joy Wallet, Benzinga, The Motley Fool and InvestorPlace.

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