Investing.com -- Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) first-quarter vehicle deliveries fell to their lowest level in nearly three years, a miss that JPMorgan says confirms “unprecedented brand damage” linked to CEO Elon Musk’s role with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Deliveries in the first quarter totaled 336,681 units, missing even JPMorgan’s bearish estimate by over 18,000 vehicles, or 5.2%. Compared to the Bloomberg consensus forecast of 390,343, the miss was more than 53,000 units, or nearly 14%. The results also marked a 13% year-over-year decline and were the weakest since Q2 2022. JPMorgan analysts said the scale of the drop suggests they “may have underestimated the degree of consumer reaction.” The stock initially traded down on the results, but reversed sharply after Politico reported that U.S. president Donald Trump had privately said Musk would be stepping back from his government role. “That government role, of course, has contributed to the controversy surrounding the Tesla brand,” analysts led by Ryan Brinkman noted. That report was later denied by Vice President Vance, who called it “total fake news.” “What does seem clear, however, is that the trend in Tesla sales is worse than we and the market had appreciated, prompting us to lower our already below consensus estimates accordingly and to expect consensus to decline further, toward our new lower estimates,” the analysts added. JPMorgan now expects Q1 2025 EPS of $0.36, down from $0.40 previously and below the consensus of $0.46. The full-year forecast has been cut to $2.30, versus consensus at $2.70. That compares to an all-time high of $8.41 reached in late 2022. The delivery outlook has also been revised downward. The bank now sees 1.715 million units for the full year, compared with 1.775 million previously. The analysts warned of further downside risk, especially in the second quarter, where current consensus implies a 32% sequential increase—well above seasonal trends. “We continue to see large downside to our $120 December 2025 price target,” they said. Tesla shares last closed at $264.10, more than double JPMorgan’s price objective.

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