TSLA Stock On Track To Snap 8-Week Losing Streak Ahead Of Q1 Earnings

• Analysts at Barclays stated that they are taking a “tempered view” of Tesla shares heading into the company’s Q1 earnings.
• The firm noted that the key question for Tesla would be how much incremental spending it will have to incur for its AI projects, including Terafab.
• Barclays believes that Terafab alone could cost in the mid-single digit trillion dollar range if it were to be fully built out.

Tesla Inc. (TSLA) shares are on track to snap their eight-week losing streak, with the stock up nearly 15% this week so far, after declining more than 16% over the preceding eight weeks.

The rally in Tesla shares comes on the heels of the EV giant’s first-quarter (Q1) earnings due next week. This is after Tesla missed Wall Street estimates with its Q1 deliveries.

Tesla shares were up nearly 4% in Friday’s midday trade.

Tesla is scheduled to report its Q1 earnings on April 22, 2026. Wall Street expects the company to report earnings per share (EPS) of $0.38 on revenue of $22.34 billion, according to Fiscal.ai data.

Analysts Take ‘Tempered View’ Heading Into Tesla Earnings

According to TheFly, analysts at Barclays stated that they are taking a “tempered view” of Tesla shares heading into the company’s Q1 earnings.

The firm noted that the key question for Tesla would be how much incremental spending it will have to incur for its AI projects, including Terafab.

Barclays believes that Terafab alone could cost in the mid-single digit trillion dollar range if it were to be fully built out. While it ruled out an exponential increase in Tesla’s capital expenditure, it expects the company to announce a step up from the $20 billion it forecast in the previous earnings call.

The firm also added that TSLA stock could outperform following the Q1 results next week, after a selloff in the weeks leading up. Barclays maintained its $360 price target and ‘Equal Weight’ rating for Tesla.

Meanwhile, analysts at TD Cowen lowered their price target for TSLA to $490 from $519 while maintaining a ‘Buy’ rating. The firm stated that the Q1 delivery miss and a quiet quarter on the robotaxi front have dampened sentiments heading into the earnings next week.

Analysts at William Blair termed the lower-than-expected energy storage product deployments as a “big miss.” They stated that while sales in this segment can be lumpy, it does not fully explain the drop.

Tesla Ramps Up Terafab Efforts

Meanwhile, Tesla has ramped up its Terafab efforts following its partnership with Intel Corp. (INTC) announced earlier this month.

The company is currently hiring for 9 positions in Taiwan, seeking candidates with more than 5 years of experience in advanced chipmaking processes.

This includes candidates with experience in 7-nanometer and below fabrication processes, while one of the roles requires experience with advanced packaging flows.

Tesla has also reached out to chip suppliers such as Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) and Lam Research Corp. (LRCX), according to a report by Bloomberg.

Tesla’s Q1 Delivery Miss In Focus

Tesla reported deliveries of 358,023 electric vehicles worldwide in Q1, falling short of a consensus estimate of 365,645 units, as compiled by the company.

The Elon Musk-led EV giant manufactured 408,386 vehicles during the quarter and deployed 8.8 GWh of energy storage products.

This was the second consecutive quarter of delivery miss for Tesla. In January, Tesla reported 418,227 deliveries in the fourth quarter (Q4), while Wall Street expected the EV giant to report 422,850 deliveries during the quarter.

The Future Fund’s Managing Partner, Gary Black, stated in a post on X that the huge gap between Tesla’s production and deliveries in Q1 likely reflects weak demand for the company’s electric vehicles in the U.S.

Tesla manufactured 50,363 more vehicles than it delivered in Q1.

“While TSLA bulls will argue TSLA deliveries don’t matter any more, EVs still comprised 72% of TSLA gross profits in 2025 and TSLA’s autonomy and humanoid robot businesses remain largely undeveloped,” he added.

Meanwhile, Tesla’s China-made EV sales rose 9% in March, registering the fifth straight month of gains.

How Did Retail Traders React?

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around Tesla trended in the ‘extremely bullish’ territory, with message volumes at ‘high’ levels at the time of writing.

One bullish user wondered whether the market is starting to catch up to the next big revolution: robots.

TSLA stock is down 11% year-to-date, but up 66% over the past 12 months. The S&P 500 ETF (SPY) is up 35% over the past 12 months, while the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ) is up 46%.

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