Tesla's China-Made EV Sales Leap Nearly 9% In March

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) reported an 8.7% year-over-year increase in China-made EV sales to 85,670 units in March, marking a fifth straight month of growth, according to the China Passenger Car Association.

First-quarter sales rose 23.5%, accelerating from the previous quarter, while global deliveries are expected to rebound nearly 10% from last year’s slump tied to backlash against CEO Elon Musk’s political views, Reuters reported on Thursday.

However, competition remains intense. Tesla’s China market share fell to 8% from 10% in 2024, and it lost significant ground in Europe. Rival BYD Co. Ltd. (OTC:BYDDY) continues to pressure pricing and demand.

Tesla is also expanding beyond EVs, focusing on solar energy, humanoid robots, and robotaxis, and is in talks to buy $2.9 billion in solar equipment from Chinese firms.

Technical Analysis

At $372.10, Tesla is trading 3.8% below its 20-day simple moving average (SMA), the stock’s average price over the last 20 sessions, which suggests the near-term trend is still tilted lower. It’s also 12.3% below its 100-day SMA, indicating the intermediate trend has cooled since the prior upswing.

Moving average convergence divergence (MACD), a trend/momentum measure, is at -10.4856 versus a -10.0806 signal line, a setup that leans bearish because downside momentum is still leading. That said, the 50-day SMA remains above the 200-day SMA (a golden-cross backdrop), even as the 20-day SMA sits below the 50-day SMA, which is consistent with a longer-term uptrend that’s currently under short-term pressure.

• Key Resistance: $416.50 — a level where rebounds have recently struggled to push through.
• Key Support: $325.50 — an area where buyers have tended to show up during pullbacks.

Earnings & Analyst Outlook

Looking further out, the next major catalyst for the stock arrives with the April 21, 2026 (estimated) earnings report.

• EPS Estimate: 34 cents (Up from 27 cents YoY)
• Revenue Estimate: $22.85 Billion (Up from $19.34 Billion YoY)
• Valuation: P/E of 353.0x (Indicates premium valuation relative to peers)

Analyst Consensus & Recent Actions: The stock carries a Buy Rating with an average price target of $418.28. Recent analyst moves include:

• Canaccord Genuity: Buy (Lowers Target to $420.00) (March 31)
• GLJ Research: Sell (Maintains Target to $24.86) (March 30)
• Wedbush: Outperform (Maintains Target to $600.00) (March 27)

Benzinga Edge Rankings

Below is the Benzinga Edge scorecard for Tesla, highlighting its strengths and weaknesses compared to the broader market:

• Momentum: Neutral (Score: 41.66) — The trend is mixed, with buyers not fully in control.
• Quality: Strong (Score: 73.65) — The business scores well on durability versus many peers.
• Value: Bearish (Score: 3.029) — The market is pricing in a lot of future growth.
• Growth: Neutral (Score: 61.8) — Growth expectations remain supportive, but not extreme.

The Verdict: Tesla’s Benzinga Edge signal reveals a quality-led profile with neutral momentum and a very expensive valuation backdrop. For longer-term traders, that mix often means the chart can stay volatile unless momentum improves enough to justify the premium.

Top ETF Exposure

• ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (NYSE:ARKW): 9.94% Weight
• American Century Focused Dynamic Growth ETF (NYSE:FDG): 8.84% Weight
• iShares Global Consumer Discretionary ETF (NYSE:RXI): 9.19% Weight

Significance: Because TSLA carries such a heavy weight in these funds, any significant inflows or outflows for these ETFs will likely force automatic buying or selling of the stock.

Price Action

TSLA Stock Price Activity: Tesla shares were down 2.38% at $372.18 during premarket trading on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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