Tesla (TSLA) stock has risen over the past month, recently on momentum, for a major event scheduled to take place soon.
For months, loyalists have been waiting excitedly for the electric vehicle (EV) producer to reveal its autonomous robotaxis in Austin, Texas, allowing people to ride in Tesla-made cars with no human driver present. CEO Elon Musk has been touting these self-driving Teslas for years, and he claims they are on track for the June 2025 rollout.
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Musk’s positive sentiment and the company’s focus on delivering the promised robotaxis on time seem to be helping drive TSLA stock up, although trading has been fairly volatile over the past week.
However, one of Wall Street’s most outspoken voices on Tesla has revealed that he believes the robotaxi launch will help push the stock to new heights, significantly raising his price target.
One Wall Street analyst sees growth ahead for Tesla
Throughout Tesla’s stock rise to market prominence, one of its most vocal supporters on Wall Street has been Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives. Known for his tech stock expertise, Ives has long been highly bullish on Tesla’s growth prospects, touting Musk’s leadership through good and bad times.
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Earlier this year, even Ives started expressing some skepticism about the company’s future, catching the attention of many people. He urged Musk to focus on Tesla, raising concern about the CEO’s work with the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and noting that his political affiliations have compromised EV sales in multiple key markets.
This prompted Ives to reduce his TSLA stock price target to $315 per share from $500, a significant decrease. However, he has since raised it to $350 and most recently, he increased it to $500 again, indicating upside potential of 46% while maintaining an Outperform rating.
Now that Musk seems to be shifting his focus back to Tesla, Ives’ outlook on the company’s future has changed.
While the analyst acknowledged that Musk’s actions have damaged Tesla’s brand, he stated that, “Those days are in the rearview mirror, as we are now seeing a recommitted Musk leading Tesla as CEO into this autonomous and robotics future ahead with his days in the White House now essentially over.”
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Ives also addressed the concern regarding Tesla’s struggling sales in Europe, stating that while the company still has some work to do, his team still believes that “the core focus for investors is the AI Revolution is now coming to Tesla,” which he sees as the new “golden age” of autonomous driving technology.
The world is watching as Tesla gears up for the robotaxi rollout
Tesla has a lot riding on its fast-approaching robotaxi launch, as Ives’ new take on the company illustrates. He notes that the “vast majority of valuation upside” for TSLA stock relies on its foray into this new market, regarded by some as the next frontier of transportation.
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Ives’ new price target makes it quite clear that he isn’t worried about the upcoming launch. The momentum for the upcoming event is significant, and the stock’s performance over the past month has been strong. TSLA stock has, however, battled high volatility over the past week.
While Tesla seems to be on track for the launch, its robotaxis won’t be fully self-driving.
Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jones, who maintains a $410 price target on TSLA stock, recently revealed that it will feature “a lot of tele-operators” after visiting the company’s office. As experts have explained to TheStreet, this means these vehicles can’t be considered fully autonomous.
However, Tesla loyalists don’t seem to care about that detail, and neither does Ives. Both are fully convinced that the robotaxi launch will help propel the company into an exciting new chapter and will help boost share prices in both the long and short term.
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