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Investing.com -- Mizuho Securities told clients in a note Wednesday that affordable electric vehicles and the upcoming Robotaxi are central to Tesla’s growth strategy, maintaining an Outperform rating on the stock despite first-quarter results falling short of expectations.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) reported first-quarter 2025 revenue and earnings of $19.3 billion and $0.27 per share, missing consensus estimates of $21.4 billion and $0.44.
Deliveries declined 13% year over year to about 337,000 vehicles, prompting the company to withdraw its prior guidance for full-year growth.
Mizuho (NYSE:MFG) now estimates deliveries will fall 8% in 2025. “We see TSLA remaining the US EV leader, offsetting some share loss in China as it launches a low-cost EV model in June,” the analysts wrote.
Tesla’s adjusted operating margin of around 10% still exceeded legacy automakers, and automotive gross margins excluding regulatory credits came in at roughly 12.7%.
“We see Low-Cost Model Y and Cybercab as Key Drivers in 2H25E and 2026E,” Mizuho wrote.
The firm highlighted Tesla’s planned launch of a budget-friendly vehicle in the first half of 2025 and its push into autonomous technology with the Cybercab, expected to begin production ramp-up in 2026.
Installation of the Cybercab production line is “underway and on track for 2026E launch,” according to Mizuho.
Tesla’s broader ambitions also include humanoid robotics. “We believe TSLA continues to ramp its Optimus SW, with production on track for 2025E, mainly for internal uses,” Mizuho wrote, targeting production of up to 1 million Optimus robots per year by 2029 or 2030.
Despite near-term challenges such as European Union tariffs and the rollback of some U.S. EV tax credits, Mizuho sees Tesla as better positioned than peers and lowered its price target to $325 from $375, citing “key valuation drivers in autonomous technology with Cybercab/FSD/humanoid robots.”