

Investor's Corner
Tesla Fremont factory building permits reveal facilities and expansion costs
A compilation and analysis of building permits filed by Tesla since July 2016 has revealed that the Elon Musk-led company spent over $51.3 million in construction permits for the Fremont factory over the past two years. Tesla also invested more than $30 million in permits for nearby facilities, including its new offices located at Dumbarton Circle in Fremont’s Ardenwood District.
The breakdown of Tesla’s expenses in the development and continued improvement of the Fremont factory was compiled by BuildZoom, which sorted through the permits filed by the company using its National Building Permit Database. As could be seen in BuildZoom‘s findings, Tesla spared no expense when it came to ensuring that its main factory is optimized to tackle the immense challenge of producing the Model 3 at scale. Below is a table of Tesla’s expenses for the Fremont factory over the past two years. Do take note, however, that the expenses reflected do not account for the cost of robots and other equipment that Tesla purchased for each portion of the 370-acre site.
Over the past two years, Tesla had filed several building permits for Fremont that cost over $1 million, among these being a $4.5 million grading and foundation permit for a 104,324-square-foot North GA3 (General Assembly 3) building. Two permits, worth $4.2 million and $2 million, respectively, were listed as “capacity increases” to the North Paint building. Other noteworthy permits include a $1.2 million and $800,000 project for two new facilities — one of which being a sprung structure — as well as a $400,000 “Tesla Sunrise” road with bio-retention system at the factory’s Eastern boundary.
As a means to adapt to the mass number of Model 3 reservations it received, Tesla had filed roughly 100 industrial and commercial alteration permits for the Fremont factory since July 2016, costing a total of $16.2 million. Tesla also invested substantially in several key areas of the factory, including its body/assembly line, its paint shop, and its stamping building.
Tesla’s body and assembly building covers one of the largest areas in the Fremont factory. Since July 2016, Tesla spent more than $21.4 million (excluding the cost of machinery) on additions and improvements to the assembly and body area. Permits worth $14.2 million were also filed to develop infrastructure for GA3. Tesla’s stamping building, which houses one of the world’s 35 existing high-end Schuler servo stamping presses, has also seen $809,000 worth of improvements since July 2016. The location of these facilities could be viewed in the image below.
The electric car maker’s paint shops, both North and South, received $10.2 million worth of improvements since July 2016, including $240,000 spent on fire prevention systems like sprinklers, fire detectors, and other safety systems. Permits also reflected a $5.2 million investment on AFES (Automatic Fire Extinguishing System) for the factory.
Perhaps most interesting in Tesla’s permits, however, were filings referencing “Sprung” and “repack” tent structures that are worth $2.9 million. As revealed by Elon Musk recently, the largest of these tents is now the site of the Model 3’s newest assembly line, dubbed as GA4. Musk has been particularly optimistic about the tent-housed Model 3 line, stating on Twitter that it has a “slightly higher quality” than traditional assembly lines.
With the end of the second quarter just a few days away, Tesla is now working at a breakneck pace in its attempt to hit its all-elusive goal of producing 5,000 Model 3 per week by the end of Q2 2018. With Musk stating that GA4 is now working, and with sightings of lots filled with Model 3 being reported around the facility, it appears that Tesla is closer to its target than ever before.
Investor's Corner
Tesla analysts are expecting the stock to go Plaid Mode soon

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) has had a few weeks of overwhelmingly bullish events, and it is inciting several analysts to change their price targets as they expect the stock to potentially go Plaid Mode in the near future.
Over the past week, Tesla has not only posted record deliveries for a single quarter, but it has also rolled out its most robust Full Self-Driving (Supervised) update in a year. The new version is more capable than ever before.
Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.1 first impressions: Robotaxi-like features arrive
However, these are not the only things moving the company’s overall consensus on Wall Street toward a more bullish tone. There are, in fact, several things that Tesla has in the works that are inciting stronger expectations from analysts in New York.
TD Cowen
TD Cowen increased its price target for Tesla shares from $374 to $509 and gave the stock a ‘Buy’ rating, based on several factors.
Initially, Tesla’s positive deliveries report for Q3 set a bullish tone, which TD Cowen objectively evaluated and recognized as a strong sign. Additionally, the company’s firm stance on ensuring CEO Elon Musk is paid is a positive, as it keeps him with Tesla for more time.
Elon Musk: Trillionaire Tesla pay package is about influence, not wealth
Musk, who achieved each of the tranches on his last pay package, could obtain the elusive title as the world’s first-ever trillionaire, granted he helps Tesla grow considerably over the next decade.
Stifel
Stifel also increased its price target on Tesla from $440 to $483, citing the improvements Tesla made with its Full Self-Driving suite.
The rollout of FSD v14.1 has been a major step forward for the company. Although it’s in its early stages, Musk has said there will be improved versions coming within the next two weeks.
Stifel raises Tesla price target by 9.8% over FSD, Robotaxi advancements
Analysts at the firm also believe the company has a chance to push an Unsupervised version of FSD by the end of the year, but this seems like it’s out of the question currently.
It broke down the company’s FSD suite as worth $213 per share, while Robotaxi and Optimus had a $140 per share and $29 per share analysis, respectively.
Stifel sees Tesla as a major player not only in the self-driving industry but also in AI as a whole, which is something Musk has truly pushed for this year.
UBS
While many firms believe the company is on its way to doing great things and that stock prices will rise from their current level of roughly $430, other firms see it differently.
UBS said it still holds its ‘Sell’ rating on Tesla shares, but it did increase its price target from $215 to $247.
It said this week in a note to investors that it adjusted higher because of the positive deliveries and its potential value with AI and autonomy. However, it also remains cautious on the stock, especially considering the risks in Q4, as nobody truly knows how deliveries will stack up.
In the last month, Tesla shares are up 24 percent.
Investor's Corner
Stifel raises Tesla price target by 9.8% over FSD, Robotaxi advancements
Stifel also maintained a “Buy” rating for the electric vehicle maker.

Investment firm Stifel has raised its price target for Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares to $483 from $440 over increased confidence in the company’s self-driving and Robotaxi programs. The new price target suggests an 11.5% upside from Tesla’s closing price on Tuesday.
Stifel also maintained a “Buy” rating despite acknowledging that Tesla’s timeline for fully unsupervised driving may be ambitious.
Building confidence
In a note to clients, Stifel stated that it believes “Tesla is making progress with modest advancements in its Robotaxi network and FSD,” as noted in a report from Investing.com. The firm expects unsupervised FSD to become available for personal use in the U.S. by the end of 2025, with a wider ride-hailing rollout potentially covering half of the U.S. population by year-end.
Stifel also noted that Tesla’s Robotaxi fleet could expand from “tiny to gigantic” within a short time frame, possibly making a material financial impact to the company by late 2026. The firm views Tesla’s vision-based approach to autonomy as central to this long-term growth, suggesting that continued advancements could unlock new revenue streams across both consumer and mobility sectors.
Tesla’s FSD goals still ambitious
While Stifel’s tone remains optimistic, the firm’s analysts acknowledged that Tesla’s aggressive autonomy timeline may face execution challenges. The note described the 2025 unsupervised FSD target as “a stretch,” though still achievable in the medium term.
“We believe Tesla is making progress with modest advancements in its Robotaxi network and FSD. The company has high expectations for its camera-based approach including; 1) Unsupervised FSD to be available for personal use in the United States by year-end 2025, which appears to be a stretch but seems more likely in the medium term; 2) that it will ‘probably have ride hailing in probably half of the populations of the U.S. by the end of the year’,” the firm noted.
Investor's Corner
Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirms bullish view on Tesla after record Q3 deliveries
The firm reiterated its Overweight rating and $355 price target.

Cantor Fitzgerald is maintaining its bullish outlook on Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) following the company’s record-breaking third quarter of 2025.
The firm reiterated its Overweight rating and $355 price target, citing strong delivery results driven by a rush of consumer purchases ahead of the end of the federal tax credit on September 30.
On Tesla’s vehicle deliveries in Q3 2025
During the third quarter of 2025, Tesla delivered a total of 497,099 vehicles, significantly beating analyst expectations of 443,079 vehicles. As per Cantor Fitzgerald, this was likely affected by customers rushing at the end of Q3 to purchase an EV due to the end of the federal tax credit, as noted in an Investing.com report.
“On 10/2, TSLA pre-announced that it delivered 497,099 vehicles in 3Q25 (its highest quarterly delivery in company history), significantly above Company consensus of 443,079, and above 384,122 in 2Q25. This was due primarily to a ‘push forward effect’ from consumers who rushed to purchase or lease EVs ahead of the $7,500 EV tax credit expiring on 9/30,” the firm wrote in its note.
A bright spot in Tesla Energy
Cantor Fitzgerald also highlighted that while Tesla’s full-year production and deliveries would likely fall short of 2024’s 1.8 million total, Tesla’s energy storage business remains a bright spot in the company’s results.
“Tesla also announced that it had deployed 12.5 GWh of energy storage products in 3Q25, its highest in company history vs. our estimate/Visible Alpha consensus of 11.5/10.9 GWh (and vs. ~6.9 GWh in 3Q24). Tesla’s Energy Storage has now deployed more products YTD than all of last year, which is encouraging. We expect Energy Storage revenue to surpass $12B this year, and to account for ~15% of total revenue,” the firm stated.
Tesla’s strong Q3 results have helped lift its market capitalization to $1.47 trillion as of writing. The company also teased a new product reveal on X set for October 7, which the firm stated could serve as another near-term catalyst.
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