In a Tuesday note, analysts at Canaccord Genuity highlighted the stark polarization in market sentiment surrounding Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), saying the electric vehicle (EV) stock has always either received fervent support or stark criticism, without much middle ground.
“Every headline is either world-ending or world-beating according to the cognoscenti,” said analysts at Canaccord.
“We, for our part, despite our not-so-successful BUY rating in 2024, have attempted to be balanced (although we most certainly have our own subconscious biases),” they added.
They argue that the first quarter of 2024 delivery shortfalls were influenced by a mix of demand and supply constraints, suggesting that under optimal conditions—without supply issues and operational disruptions—Tesla's sales figures could have been significantly higher.
“It’s not rocket science: if Tesla could have built all the right vehicles in the quarter, it could have sold more,” said the analysts.
Had the company managed to manufacture all the desired vehicles, including the updated Model 3s without supply constraints, and reached its production goal of approximately 62,500 Cybertrucks, while also avoiding shutdowns in Europe and the Red Sea regions, the automaker “would have sold more vehicles,” the analysts noted.
Earlier this week, two key executives left Tesla on the same day the EV giant announced it had laid off more than 10% of its workforce.
Drew Baglino, Tesla’s SVP of Powertrain and Energy, and Rohan Patel, VP of Public Policy and Business Development, both departed the company on Monday.