Tesla Stock Slips Premarket: Cathie Wood’s Ark Maintains Conviction With $14M Dip Buy Even As Bears Get Louder

• ARK Innovation (ARKK), ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics (ARKQ), and ARK Space & Defense Innovation ETF (ARKX) collectively purchased 39,691 shares, according to Monday’s disclosures.
• Despite near-term pressure, ARK continues to project a $2,600 price target for Tesla in 2029, with Wood saying autonomous mobility could scale into a $10 trillion opportunity.
• However, JPMorgan reiterated an ‘Underweight’ rating and a $145 price target, implying about 60% downside from current levels. 

Shares of Tesla, Inc. (TSLA) slipped 1% in premarket trading on Tuesday even as Cathie Wood added nearly $14 million worth of the EV maker’s stock across three ARK Invest ETFs, maintaining conviction amid intensifying bearish calls following the company’s latest delivery miss and technical breakdown.

Cathie Wood Adds Tesla Across 3 ETFs

According to ARK’s Monday disclosures, the ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) bought 29,563 shares, the ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF (ARKQ) added 9,209 shares, and the ARK Space & Defense Innovation ETF (ARKX) purchased 919 shares, totaling 39,691 shares. Based on Tesla’s last close, the combined purchases amount to roughly $14 million.

The buying came as Tesla shares fell more than 2% Monday, marking their lowest level in nearly seven months after slipping below key technical levels following another quarterly delivery miss.

GLJ Research analyst Gordon Johnson said Tesla has broken below its 20-, 50-, and 75-day moving averages and remains trapped in a descending channel that began after the stock’s December highs near $480.  Johnson added that if consensus expectations for a negative $1.6 billion in first-quarter free cash flow hold and historical correlations between Tesla’s free cash flow and share price persist, the stock could lose as much as 36% by the end of June.

Weak Deliveries Deepen Pressure On Tesla Outlook

Johnson’s technical warning followed a bearish call from JPMorgan, which reiterated an ‘Underweight’ rating and set a $145 price target, implying a 60% downside after Tesla’s delivery report. “We ... advise investors approach TSLA shares with a high degree of caution,” the brokerage said, while lowering 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates to $1.8 from $2.

Tesla delivered 358,023 vehicles globally in the first quarter, missing Wall Street expectations for a second straight quarter. Deliveries rose 6% from the previous year but fell 14% from a quarter ago, marking the company’s weakest quarter since 2022 outside a Model Y production adjustment period. The company also deployed 8.8 gigawatt-hours of energy-storage products, down from 10.4 gigawatt-hours a year earlier and below estimates.

Cathie Wood Sticks With Tesla As Core ARKK Bet

Tesla remains ARKK's largest holding at 9.94% of the portfolio as of Monday. The ETF fell 12% in the latest quarter, its weakest performance since January 2025, with Tesla’s decline weighing heavily on returns.

Wood has repeatedly emphasized autonomy as central to ARK’s long-term investment case. “Autonomous mobility, we think, will be the biggest revenue generator. It’ll scale the most quickly, to the USD 10 trillion mark,” she told Morningstar in February.

She also said that “by the end of this year, depending on the regulatory environment, Tesla will be autonomous in 25% to 50% of all of the U.S. major cities.”

ARK continues to project a $2,600 Tesla price target by 2029, implying a potential market cap of $9.75 trillion, excluding contributions from the Optimus humanoid robot program. “We’re beginning to understand that while we were too aggressive on autonomous mobility, robotaxis, we may be too conservative on the humanoid robot opportunity,” Wood said.

How Do Retail Traders Feel About TSLA?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for Tesla slipped to ‘extremely bearish’ from ‘bearish’ levels over the past day amid a 490% jump in 24-hour message volumes.

One user said TSLA is “is really in trouble and so over valued with no promises for the future and no one really knows what they do.”

Another user said, “won’t be surprised if we see 320 by Friday — falling knife.”

TSLA stock has tanked 22% so far this year, ranking as the second-worst performer among the “Magnificent Seven” group of equities.

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