Stock market experts make head-scratching prediction about Tesla's future: 'There could be a downside'
A key stock market analyst has significantly raised Tesla’s target share price. But in doing so, he also left some questions about the company’s long-term financial upside.
On Sept. 17, Goldman Sachs boosted Tesla’s price target to $395, up from the previous $300. But despite raising the target by more than 30%, the increase still caused some skepticism.
As CNBC reports, that target price was still $25 below where Tesla stock opened the day on Sept. 17, indicating that Goldman expects Tesla’s shares to dip over the next year.
“If Tesla can have outsized share in areas such as humanoid robotics and autonomy, then there could be upside to our price target,” Goldman analyst Mark Delaney wrote. “Although if competition limits profits … or Tesla does not execute well, then there could be downside.”
On the surface, Delaney’s comments seem obvious — if the company does well, its stock should go up, and if it doesn’t, the stock should decrease. But it also points to some of the exact ups and downs Tesla has faced this year.
Notably, Tesla sales have slipped in 2025. There are several theories as to why, including some protests against the company because of CEO Elon Musk’s support and involvement with the Trump administration.
But even as Tesla sales have dropped, overall electric vehicle sales have soared. That means a higher share of EV sales is going to Tesla’s competitors. In fact, Lucid recently dethroned Tesla as the automaker with the United States’ top-selling electric luxury sedan.
Instead, Tesla’s biggest wins this year have come outside of individual EV sales. It continues to be a large player in battery storage, with its Megapack providing storage for some of the world’s biggest renewable energy projects.
Tesla also launched its Robotaxi service this year in Austin, Texas. And although some riders have noticed strange or unsafe behaviors from the driverless cars, Tesla has quickly expanded the autonomous service.
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