Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares are sliding 6% this morning after the electric-vehicle maker reported lower-than-expected fourth-quarter deliveries. But defending the name on weakness today is Dan Ives, a well-known analyst at investment bank Wedbush Securities.

Tesla shares sank Thursday morning after the electric vehicle maker reported fewer deliveries than analysts had expected for the fourth quarter.

"Looking to FY25, we remain highly confident in Tesla’s ability to accelerate delivery growth into FY25 with 20%-30% delivery growth targets the focus for the Street as TSLA is also expected to launch its lower-priced EV in early 2025 to spur growth for vehicle deliveries," wrote Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives on Outperform-rated TSLA.

Tesla's annual deliveries fell for the first time in 2024 despite the electric automaker handing over a record number of units in the fourth quarter, indicating tepid demand for its aging line-up of models.

Electric vehicle (EV) maker Tesla, Inc. ($TSLA) reported fourth-quarter deliveries that trailed the consensus estimate and production declined from the prior-year periods. Fourth-quarter deliveries were 495,

The delivery figures are the first real piece of fundamental news for Tesla investors since the November election sparked a big rally for the stock.

With fewer than 500,000 deliveries in the quarter. Tesla had its first annual decline in deliveries in more than a decade. Is it a demand issue? I think it is. You know, this has been an issue with Tesla for some time now.

Tesla’s production and delivery numbers for 2024 are out, and the numbers are pretty sobering. The premiere EV company in the US produced 1.77 million cars this year, a drop of about 4 percent compared to the previous year,