On Wednesday, Tesla's stock price plummeted nearly 6%, mainly due to the latest data from Europe showing a significant slowdown in the company's sales, coupled with investors' concerns over the new car import tariff policy announced by U.S. President Trump. Notably, Tesla's stock surged 11.93% on Monday, marking its best single-day performance since November 2024, and closed up 3.5% on Tuesday.

According to data released by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) on Tuesday, Tesla's new car registrations in Europe fell sharply by 40% year-on-year in February, while overall sales of pure electric vehicles grew by 26% year-on-year.

After the U.S. stock market closed on Wednesday, Trump announced that he would impose a 25% tariff on all cars not manufactured in the United States. Earlier on Wednesday, the White House announced that Trump would release news related to automobile tariffs. Previously, Trump had referred to April 2 as "Liberation Day" and a "major day" for implementing a tough tariff policy, but earlier this week he hinted that the automobile tariffs might be announced ahead of schedule.

In fact, dramatic fluctuations in Tesla's stock price are not uncommon. This year, there have already been 14 trading days when the stock experienced at least a 5% increase or decrease. Wednesday's sell-off came as the Nasdaq index fell by 2%, following five consecutive days of gains for Tesla, including a 12% surge on Monday.

However, the overall trend shows that Tesla's stock price has experienced a significant decline this year, especially since Trump began his second term in January and invited Tesla CEO Elon Musk to join the White House. Since the inauguration day, Tesla's stock price has dropped a cumulative 36%, with a decline of 28% in February alone, marking the largest monthly drop since December 2022.

RBC analysts pointed out after Tuesday's ACEA report that the decline in Tesla's European registrations in February actually only involved about 11,000 vehicles, and emphasized that the month's data may not represent the true demand situation. They speculated that new car buyers in Europe might be waiting for the updated Model Y, which is expected to be released later this year, or for a more affordable new model.

However, some potential electric vehicle buyers have recently been put off by Musk's political statements and his role in the Trump administration. Musk was responsible for significantly cutting federal government spending and reducing federal employees during the Trump administration, and he has expressed a desire to privatize many services, including Social Security.

Analysts at William Blair said on Wednesday that the "negative reactions from Musk's foray into politics" have damaged Tesla's brand image, even leading to some acts of brand sabotage. This situation coincides with production challenges during the Model Y facelift and increasingly fierce competition in China.

Nevertheless, the institution maintains a "buy" rating for Tesla's stock. They point out that Tesla's growth in the energy storage business and its prospects in the autonomous taxi sector remain promising. Musk previously promised that Tesla would launch an autonomous taxi service in Austin in June, but as of now, the company has not started production of the dedicated autonomous taxi model, Cybercab.