Tesla (TSLA) Stock Price and Forecast: Will it ever break $800?

• Tesla stock is still struggling to get above $800 as the move loses power.
• Stocks switch to green on Wednesday, and Tesla closes higher.
• $800 is a key level, but Tesla (TSLA) cannot hold above it.

Tesla stock did manage to close higher on Wednesday, but the stock is really struggling for momentum as it just cannot hold above the psychological $800 level. This is leading us to question the move as, despite some strong delivery data, the stock has failed to push on. Wednesday saw the stock swing around intraday as it struggled for direction, along with the overall market it has to be said. 

Tesla 15-minute chart

Tesla key statistics

Tesla (TSLA) Stock news

In line with the choppy trading on Wednesday was the mixed news flow for Tesla. The big story making headwinds earlier this week was the ruling in the case of a former employee, Owen Diaz. A federal jury in San Francisco on Monday awarded Mr Diaz $6.9 million in compensatory damages, and Tesla was ordered to pay $130 million in punitive damages. The jury found Tesla did not take steps to stop race-based harassment of factory workers. Reuters reports: "In a memo to employees on Monday, Tesla Vice President Valerie Workman said the company believed the facts of the case did not warrant the large award, and that Tesla took immediate action each of the three times that Diaz complained about racist conduct." Tesla also said that, "While we strongly believe that these facts don't justify the verdict reached by the jury in San Francisco, we do recognize that in 2015 and 2016 we were not perfect." 

The delivery data was positive though with numbers coming in ahead of Wall Street analysts' forecasts. Deliveries were up 20% in Q3. Tesla delivered 241,300 vehicles in the quarter, which was an increase of 73% YoY, making it the sixth straight quarter of delivery growth. Wall Street analysts had expected deliveries of 229,242, so this was a comfortable beat.

Also on Wednesday Electrek reports that Tesla has increased prices for the Model 3 and Model Y – the cheapest car is now $42,000. General Motors (GM) also held its investor day on Wednesday. While not directly targetting Tesla, GM did say that it aims to be the US leader in electric vehicle sales. Clearly, legacy automakers have Tesla in their sights, but the EV leader has a well-established headstart and strong brand awareness and loyalty. 

A multitude of varying news flow was reflected in choppy and inconsistent share price movements on Wednesday. 

Tesla (TSLA) stock forecast

The $780 high from back in April had been a point of rotation for the share price since moving up to it in late September. Tesla has since then largely swayed around the axis of $780, rarely moving more than a few percent above or below. Wednesday again played this out, and for the most part the range has been small. We have been looking for a catalyst, but with both positive and negative newsflow it seems the chop is set to continue. At some stage, a breakout will occur, so be ready.

We still remain bullish above $770 but really want to see some clarity this week with a move and a hold above $800. Tesla is above the 9 and 21-day moving averages and still holding in the uptrend channel.

FXStreet View: Bullish above $770.