RBC analyst slashes 3 key auto price targets | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

This week, analysts at RBC Capital told investors what they already know: The electric vehicle market is not in great shape. So the firm lowered its price targets on Tesla, Ford, and Lucid, though it also maintained its outperform rating on Tesla.

It’s quite the turnaround for the EV market that had a record first three quarters of 2025 as buyers flocked to dealerships to make purchases before the government tax credit expired at the end of September.

Ford Model e losses by year

2025: $4.8 billion
2024: $5.1 billion
2023: $4.7 billion
2022: $2.2 billion

The Detroit Big 3 alone collectively have lost $50 billion on their EV divisions in 2025, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Ford’s EV division, Model e, had its best month of sales ever as buyers flocked to dealerships to take advantage of the $7,500 EV tax credit, which expired in September.

However, despite those sales, Ford lost $1.4 billion on its EV division in the third quarter due to spending on new products and increased competition, according to Ford.

Through three quarters, the company said it lost $3.6 billion on EVs, with about $3 billion of the loss attributed to its first-generation EV products, including the Mach-E, F-150 Lightning, Puma, Explorer, and Capri. The rest was from investments in its next-generation vehicles.

However, even after Ford revealed a $19.5 billion charge for its EV division, CEO Jim Farley never said he would abandon the tech. In fact, he doubled down, saying the company was more focused than ever on turning it around, and even sharing that Ford had a plan to make its EVs profitable by 2029.

The company’s insistence on making its EV division work may be one reason RBC Capital’s Tom Narayan lowered his price target.

Tesla is still the favorite, despite cut at RBC Capital

Narayan lowered the price targets for Tesla, Ford, and Lucid in his latest note, while keeping an outperform rating on Tesla and sector perform ratings on Ford and Lucid, according to EV.

Narayan lowered Tesla’s price target by 4% to $480 per share from $500. Despite the trim, Tesla is still the most bullish in RBC’s auto coverage, as the firm remains optimistic on the company’s core automotive business at 1x sales while also applying premiums to its energy storage, Robotaxi, and humanoid robotics businesses.

The firm expects Tesla revenue to rise in 2026 to $111 billion from $93.5 billion in 2025. In 2025, Tesla reported its first annual decline in overall revenue, led by a 11% drop in automotive revenue.

Tesla shares closed the Monday, April 13, session up nearly 1% to $352.42, but the stock is down nearly 20% year to date.

Ford lost $1.4 billion on its EV division in the third quarter.

Photo by jetcityimage on Getty Images

Ford’s pivot away from EVs will cost money

RBC lowered Ford’s price target by 8.3% to $11 from $12 while maintaining its sector perform rating.

EV reported that Narayan praised Ford’s decision to move away from fully electric vehicles as “a rational response to the slowing EV market,” but Ford still plans to spend heavily on EVs as it looks to break through with vehicles that start at $30,000 rather than $50,000.

More EV news

“We think to make that business profitable, we have to get to a BYD cost,” Ford CEO Jim Farley told Bloomberg earlier this year. “And so this skunkworks project called the Universe Electric Vehicle that we’re making in Kentucky, that is designed to match the BYD cost in Mexico.”

Farley reiterated what the company said in its December announcement: It would take a $19.5 billion charge on its EV business, with the majority of that charge attributed to the fourth quarter.

But Ford expects $5.5 billion of that charge to be cash effects, with the majority paid this year and the remainder in 2027.

Ford shares closed the Monday, April 13, session up 0.25% to $12.16.

Lucid price target slashed once again at RBC Capital

For the third time since January, RBC Capital is lowering its price target on EV maker Lucid.

This time, the firm shaved 20% off its expected price target to $8 per share from $10 per share. In January, the firm had a $20 per share price target. Lucid shares closed the Monday, April 13, session up 7.67% to $9.24 per share.

That was a nice rebound from the all-time low of $8.58 per share the stock reached on Friday.

Rivian previously shared that it was lowering its 2026 production guidance, while also admitting it had to revise its full-year 2025 output down to 17,840 units. RBC capital is concerned about stiff “competition and limited software revenues near-term.”

The firm is also concerned about Lucid’s liquidity, as the carmaker needs near-term financing, despite its continued backing from the Saudi Public Investment Fund.