Early on March 20, HSBC ramped up its long-standing hawkishness regarding Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) stock as it forecasted a 68% downside for the electric vehicle (EV) maker’s equity.
Specifically, along with confirming the previous ‘Sell’ rating, the firm lowered the 12-month TSLA share forecast from $133 to $119, signalling it estimates the car company’s sales woes are likely to only get worse and that ‘FSD’ is unlikely to provide deliverance.
Tesla stock is 15.85% down in 2026 and is, at press time on March 20, changing hands at $378.46. Simultaneously, the EV maker’s shares are trading 24.13% below their 52-week high of $498.82.
HSBC has been bearish on Tesla stock for more than a year
While the 68% forecasted downside is severe, such an assessment coming from HSBC is no surprise.
Already in the spring of 2025, the company issued a dire note about the health of Elon Musk’s top company with a particular eye for the damage the Tesla brand suffered in Europe and the loss of market share to Chinese firms such as BYD.
Wall Street sets Tesla stock price target for the next 12 months
Simultaneously, the new $119 price target represents a continued bearish shift among analysts. TSLA stock is, at press time, overall considered a ‘Hold’ on Wall Street and has a middling $399.25 12-month price target, based on the data Finbold retrieved from TipRanks on March 20.
Still, it is worth noting that some experts remain optimistic regarding the EV maker, with some dramatic examples of the trend coming in the form of the $508 forecast issued by Stifel Nicolaus on March 17, and $415 from Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) on the same day.
Is ‘FSD’ about to crash Tesla stock
Elsewhere, Tesla critics have received a new boost for their skepticism regarding ‘FSD’ – the firm’s self-driving system – as it might soon face a large-scale recall due to its apparent inability to handle low-visibility conditions and, worse still, its inability to ‘realize’ it has lost spatial awareness.
Multiple observers have been highly critical of the EV maker’s decision to base its autonomous driving technology primarily on cameras, and some long-standing bears such as Gordon Johnson of GJL Research have been citing that particular decision as a major reason for their exceedingly gloomy price forecasts for years.
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