First Solar stock (FSLR) heads into Monday after Tesla’s 100‑GW solar talk jolts sentiment

New York, Feb 1, 2026, 19:45 EST — Market closed

• First Solar last closed at $225.52 on Friday, up 0.7%, after a sharp slide the prior session.
• Wall Street is split on whether Tesla’s solar ambitions are a real threat or a headline shock.

First Solar shares ended Friday at $225.52, up 0.7%. The stock finished the week down about 7% after a more than 10% drop on Thursday, and the last trade in Friday’s extended session was slightly lower. (StockAnalysis)

The next U.S. session opens with investors still trying to pin down whether last week’s hit was just a sentiment reset or the start of a longer derating tied to fresh manufacturing competition. The move matters because the company’s bull case has leaned heavily on tight domestic supply and firm pricing. (TipRanks)

In its downgrade, BMO Capital Markets pointed to pricing assumptions embedded in the stock. The firm said the valuation implied a long-run “module price” near 29 cents per watt — a common yardstick that links a panel’s price to the electricity capacity it can produce — versus recent contracted pricing in the low-30s cents per watt. BMO also flagged U.S. utility-scale solar growth expectations, First Solar’s U.S. capacity and rising domestic supply, including T1 Energy’s planned buildout, as key inputs. (Investing)

Not everyone is buying the bear case. Mizuho said worries about Tesla competition were “overdone,” arguing that building a fully U.S.-made solar supply chain is capital intensive and slow, and that the U.S. lacks enough upstream silicon supply. The firm said it does not expect a meaningful impact on First Solar’s earnings through at least 2030. (TipRanks)

The debate traces back to comments from Elon Musk, who told analysts on Tesla’s earnings call that “the solar opportunity is underestimated,” and said the company would “work towards getting 100 gigawatts a year of solar cell production.” (The Motley Fool)

Tesla has also been trying to show it is serious about hardware. At a recent event, Tesla residential energy head Colby Hastings said it was the first time the company had “fully designed and manufactured our own solar panel,” adding: “It’s available now.” Tesla has begun manufacturing at its Buffalo, New York factory with a line capable of more than 300 megawatts a year, Canary Media reported, compared with more than 8 gigawatts of module capacity operated by Qcells. (Canary Media)

Wells Fargo struck a different tone. The bank said Tesla’s plan to build 100 gigawatts of U.S. solar capacity sparked the sector selloff, but it saw limited impact on First Solar because of cost advantages and pricing power, while it flagged Canadian Solar as facing more risk. (TipRanks)

But the downside case hasn’t gone away. Investors still do not know how fast Tesla can scale, whether it would sell excess output to third parties, or how much additional U.S. supply would ultimately pressure contract prices. Trade policy is another loose wire: a Section 232 probe — a national security investigation that can lead to tariffs — covers polysilicon and related products, key inputs in the solar supply chain. (Bureau of Industry and Security)

What traders watch next is Feb. 24, when First Solar is scheduled to report fourth-quarter and full-year results and provide 2026 guidance after the market close, followed by a conference call at 4:30 p.m. ET. (Businesswire)