Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) is heading toward another year-over-year sales decline as its core car business continues to lose ground, and the pressure has carried through to the stock. Shares are down 21% in 2026, a year in which the S&P 500 (SPX) has gained 12%, and the stock trades almost 30% below the record high it set in December.

Even so, Wall Street has grown less willing to tell investors to sell. According to Bloomberg data, only 13.1% of the 61 analyst recommendations on Tesla now carry a sell-equivalent rating — the smallest bearish share since April 2023. At that point, Tesla was contending with mounting pressure on profit margins, and 12.8% of analysts recommended selling the stock. Last December, when the shares reached their record price, almost one-quarter of analysts were bearish.

Wall Street trims bearish calls as Musk pushes deeper into AI

The decline in sell recommendations has coincided with CEO Elon Musk's push to make Tesla about more than electric vehicles. Musk is attempting to reframe the company around physical artificial intelligence, placing the emphasis on self-driving robotaxis and humanoid robots rather than automobile sales. That shift places Tesla in a competitive field that already includes Alphabet's (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Waymo, which operates commercial robotaxi services in several U.S. cities.

Tesla's latest loss of a sell rating did not come from an analyst changing direction, however. Colin Langan, a longtime Tesla skeptic, left Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC). His departure led Wells Fargo to suspend research coverage of Tesla and 17 other auto companies, removing one bearish recommendation from the total without any upgrade taking place. Whether that suspended coverage resumes under a new analyst — and which way a replacement recommendation leans — is one variable that could shift the bearish share again.

On the other side of the ledger, the proportion of analysts assigning Tesla a hold rating has climbed to its highest level in more than two years. A hold, unlike an upgrade, signals retreat from a directional call rather than a bullish turn. In practice, analysts are becoming increasingly conservative about bearish views on Tesla even as the stock materially underperforms the market this year.

Tesla also continues to carry far more negative ratings than most other giant technology stocks grouped in the Magnificent Seven. Fewer than 2% of analysts covering five of those companies currently hold bearish ratings. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has a much higher negative share at 10.7%, though that still sits below Tesla's 13.1%.

The stock's weakness has surfaced at the same time as Musk tries to change what investors are buying into. Tesla still sells electric vehicles, but a growing portion of its long-term strategy is now tied to autonomous driving systems, robotaxis, robotics and AI hardware.

European registrations jump as several markets reverse earlier declines

Tesla's European numbers improved sharply in September. New registrations, which are widely used as a measure of vehicle sales, rose across several major markets compared with the same month last year. Because Tesla discloses production and delivery figures on a quarterly cycle, monthly registration data offers one of the earliest reads on how its sales are tracking between those reports.

Portugal recorded the biggest jump, with registrations up 128.3% year over year, according to data from ACAP. France followed with a 61.9% increase, based on figures from French automotive body PFA. Sweden reported a 38.4% rise, according to Mobility Sweden, while Spanish industry group ANFAC showed registrations climbing 24.8%.

Growth was much smaller in northern Europe. Registrations increased 2.2% in Norway, according to vehicle data compiler OFV, while Denmark recorded a 2.9% gain, based on figures from Danish vehicle platform bilstatistik.dk.

Several factors have supported the rebound. Tesla is now being measured against weaker sales numbers from a year earlier, making annual comparisons easier. Higher fuel prices have also changed the cost equation for some drivers. Government incentives continue to support electric-vehicle purchases in parts of Europe, and consumer interest in battery-powered cars has increased.

The September gains extend a wider European recovery after Tesla spent two years working through falling regional sales. Data from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association showed Tesla registrations across the European Union, Britain and the European Free Trade Association jumping 43.3% between January and August. That growth rate outpaced the wider battery-electric vehicle market, which expanded 38.8% over the same eight-month period. The upcoming quarterly delivery and financial updates will show whether that momentum carried into the full-year picture — and whether it was enough to alter the trajectory of a car business still shrinking year over year.