They may not have an engine, but electric vehicles sure know how to stall out anyway. Once the darling of automaking, headline projects and investors are suddenly scaling back their battery-powered ambitions. With sales targets slashed and launches delayed, the road to electrification comes with more twists than anyone expected.

• FerrariRACE
  plunged 15% Thursday, its worst trading day ever, after unveiling its first electric model — shocking analysts as it halved its end-of-decade EV sales expectations to 20%.
• Meanwhile, PorschePOAHY
  delayed its much-touted electric sports cars, dragging down guidance as shares slid 7.5% — while Lamborghini’s first “EV” was revealed as a plug-in hybrid.

What’s driving the turn: Luxury automakers are treading carefully as higher sticker prices, aggressive price wars, and resale value threats leave buyers concerned. Meanwhile, a cooling Chinese market and stricter tariffs have amplified hesitancy for new launches. TeslaTSLA

, once the poster child of the EV revolution, is moving to new markets altogether as its car sales fade. For now, even the fastest cars can’t outrun market swings — or even the nostalgia for a good old-fashioned engine purr.