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.

A surge of promotional deals in the fourth quarter failed to stimulate sales enough to top the prior-year results.

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.

After growing at least 35% every year from 2016 to 2023, Tesla’s year-over-year vehicle delivery growth slumped to -1% in 2024.

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.

Tesla reported record fourth-quarter deliveries early Thursday, but the number came in below analyst expectations as the company failed to hit its target of annual vehicle unit growth compared to 2023.