What to do about Tesla?
On the one hand, the carmaker has helped popularize electric vehicles in the U.S., bringing the technology into the mainstream in a way that other car companies have failed to do.
Tesla Q4 deliveries
- Q4 Model 3 and Y deliveries: 406,585
- Q4 all other models deliveries: 11,642
- Q4 Model 3/Y production: 422,652
- Q4 all other models production: 11,706
The company’s artificial intelligence is reportedly top-notch, and its Model 3 and Model Y are two of the most popular vehicles on the road.
But the company also has issues.
Depending on how far you zoom in or out of Tesla’s stock chart, the company is either a great investment or a giant headache.
Tesla shares are up over 8% over the past 12 months but down 7.6% over the past 4 weeks as investors gear up for another quarter of falling deliveries.
Tesla shares showed major volatility early last year, more than halving in value between December 2024 and April 2025.
Photo by jetcityimage on Getty Images
Tesla loses ground for the second consecutive year
Tesla shares have a history of volatility, but 2025 was an especially tumultuous year. Tesla shares more than halved in value between December 2024 and April 2025, bottoming out at an intraday low of $214.25 on April 7. But since then, they’ve more than doubled.
It’s not just Tesla’s stock price that’s faltering, however. Deliveries are suffering as well, and they have been for some time.
Related: Tesla turns to surprising partner for critical new hardware
The year 2025 marked Tesla’s second consecutive year of falling car deliveries. Tesla delivered 1.64 million vehicles last year, down from 1.78 million in 2024 and 1.81 million in 2023.
Tesla’s operating income dropped dramatically in 2025 to $4.86 billion from $7.76 billion in 2024, and its gross profit declined to $16.2 billion from $17.4 billion.
But based on recent history, Tesla investors aren’t going anywhere because of the promise the company represents. CEO Elon Musk and his vision has brought them this far, and investors and analysts alike are hesitant to abandon him now.
Related: History of Tesla & its stock: Timeline, facts & milestones
Elon Musk’s promises keep investors intrigued
Analysts at Deutsche Bank expect the bad times to stretch into 2026, but the firm remains bullish on the company, given its future ambitions.
“While the autos business at Tesla may underperform in 2026, we think more attention is directed towards the company’s robotaxi expansion and efforts at humanoid development,” Deutsche Bank analysts said in a recent note.
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“To the extent that the macro regime doesn’t change materially, we think investors will continue to look beyond weakness in the autos business.”
But the problem with Musk’s promises is that he rarely delivers on them.
“I think we will probably have autonomous ride-hailing in probably half the population of the U.S. by the end of the year,” Musk said during the company’s second-quarter earnings call in July 2025.
Tesla has fewer than 50 Tesla Robotaxis on the road.
During the company’s third-quarter call, Musk dangled Tesla’s Optimus robot like shiny keys in front of investors, saying Tesla is “on the cusp of something really tremendous” with Optimus, and calling it the “biggest product of all time.”
Musk even made a near-term promise. Tesla will be unveiling Optimus V3 “probably in Q1.”
“It won’t even seem like a robot. It’ll seem like a person in a robot suit,” Musk promised investors on the call.
So that’s something for fans to look forward to Tesla delivering in the next three months.
“Musk is likely to spend this call selling the future….autonomy, robotaxis, AI, robots,” predicted Dominick Miserandino, CEO of Retail Tech Media Nexus.
“That said, the present wrestles with tougher realities: a brand under pressure, Chinese EV makers moving fast into global markets, and numbers that don’t quite match the narrative. It’s a familiar rhythm, paint a massive tomorrow and let today’s numbers fade into the background.”
Tesla’s only moneymaker is losing its luster
While Tesla CEO Elon Musk thinks of his company as much more than just an electric vehicle maker, more than 90% of Tesla’s revenue comes from cars.
And unfortunately for the company, its car business isn’t doing very well.
Earlier this month, the company reported delivering 418,000 vehicles in the fourth quarter, exceeding the 15% year-over-year decline to 422,000 vehicles that analysts polled by Tesla had expected.
For the year, they expected 1.64 million deliveries, an 8.6% decline, which Tesla achieved.
Tesla will release its official fourth-quarter and full-year earnings results after the market closes on Wednesday, Jan. 28.