Imagine buying your dream car, only to discover it needs $16,000 worth of repairs before the end of the first week. That is just what happened to someone who bought a car from electric vehicle giant Tesla (TSLA), and the news is likely making some reconsider buying. It is also making investors reconsider buying Tesla shares, as those shares dropped over 2% in Monday afternoon’s trading.
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Forget margin or options. Here's how the pros trade TSLAThe problem is a familiar one to long-time Tesla watchers: the 2018 Model S seemed clean enough, no accidents, not much repair history, and generally clean. But the woman who bought it missed a clear red flag: the car had just over 110,000 miles on it.
That means little to most car buyers—a bit high-mileage, yes, but not too terrible—but for Tesla, it is a disaster. The woman soon noted the car was losing a lot of power even on short hops, with a drive to work consuming 20% battery life. The Model S battery was soon revealed to be faulty…and no longer under warranty. Model S batteries have a warranty of eight years or 150,000 miles, and as a 2018, eight years was up just over three months ago. Tesla quoted a repair cost of $16,000.
More Losses
Meanwhile, Xiaomi (XIACF) hired away Dieter Lorenz, who previously served as Tesla’s Senior Manager of Delivery Operations for Central Europe. Now, he starts services as Xiaomi’s Head of Delivery & Logistics Europe, which suggests that Xiaomi wants to start establishing a beachhead in Europe ahead of its original schedule. The previous schedule called for Xiaomi to enter Europe in 2027.
Lorenz has six years in with Tesla in Germany, beginning life there as an Operations Supervisor before eventually becoming Operations Manager for Germany. This is not Tesla’s only loss in Europe, either, as one team member identified only as Marvin M. also recently departed Tesla for Xiaomi. Xiaomi’s European R&D and Design Center has been in operation since September 2025, suggesting that Xiaomi wants operations there up and running quickly.
Is Tesla a Buy, Hold or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on TSLA stock based on 13 Buys, 11 Holds, and seven Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 54.57% rally in its share price over the past year, the average TSLA price target of $393.97 per share implies 13.06% upside potential.
