Macroeconomic concerns around Tesla are starting to mount, according to Wolfe Research. Analyst Rod Lache downgraded Tesla shares to peer perform from outperform. Lache maintained his price target of $185, implying 6% upside from Friday’s close price. “Tesla has already had to cut prices quite a bit more than we expected. And we worry that macro challenges are intensifying in ways that could disproportionately affect US EV makers,” Lache wrote in a Monday note. Tesla has cut prices in recent months to stoke sales, raising concern among some analysts that profits could be under pressure going forward. Now, the company could be hurt by the Silicon Valley Bank failure, Lache said. Silicon Valley Bank failed Friday. On Sunday, regulators unveiled a plan that would guarantee depositors their money . “The continued downturn in the Tech Sector [is] potentially now exacerbated by the implosion of SVB. We’d note, for example, that California accounted for ~1/3 of US EV sales in 2022 (41% for TSLA). And the tech industry accounts for roughly 20% of California’s economy. We believe there’s [a] risk that tech spending will slow down even faster, and there will be larger layoffs.” said Lache. “We see no reason why this region would behave any differently than Consumers anywhere else: Autos are durable goods. And their purchases are commonly deferred when consumers feel less financially secure,” Lache added. Tesla shares were down 0.5% on Monday before the bell. The stock has surged 40.8% year to date. Meanwhile, shares have declined more than 32% during the last 12 months. —CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
