Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares were down 5% in pre-market trading on Tuesday, as tensions between Elon Musk and Donald Trump resurfaced.
And there's more pain for investors in store, according to the latest Wall Street research, with Deutsche Bank is warning of weaker-than-expected quarterly vehicle deliveries.
The EV maker is expected to post second-quarter global deliveries of around 355,000 units, down from a prior estimate of 385,000 and well below consensus forecasts of more than 380,000.
That would mark a near 20% year-on-year decline, though volumes are projected to be up more than 5% on the previous quarter.
Deutsche cited continued weakness in European markets, where the Tesla brand is facing intensifying competition, as a major drag.
North America will be steadier, with volume aided by the ramp-up of the updated Model Y Juniper.
Deliveries in China are likely to be flat compared with the first quarter, with 109,000 registrations estimated so far this quarter.
Tesla is due to report second-quarter results in the coming weeks. Deutsche maintained its “buy” rating but cut its full-year delivery forecast to 1.6 million vehicles, implying a drop of more than 10% compared with 2024.
The subdued forecast comes amid a fresh escalation in hostilities between Musk and Trump.
The Tesla chief executive posted on social media that lawmakers supporting the president’s latest tax and spending package “should hang their heads in shame” and threatened to target them in next year’s primaries.
Trump responded by accusing Musk of benefiting more than any other individual from public subsidies and suggested a review by the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency.
Other analysts at US broker Wedbush said "beef was heating up again" as the former allies were back in another a soap opera situation that "remains an overhang on Tesla's stock with investors fearing that the Trump Administration will be more hawkish and show scrutiny around Musk related US government spending related to Tesla/SpaceX and most importantly the autonomous future with the regulatory environment key to the future of Robotaxis and Cybercabs".
However, analyst Dan Ives said he believes the situation "will settle" because "at the end of the day Musk needs Trump and Trump needs Musk given the AI Arms Race going on between the US and China".