Investor's Corner
Rivian’s initial stock coverage highlights the potential of the EV sector
Rivian (NASDAQ: RIVN) has received its first bit of initial stock coverage from several highlighted electric vehicle sector analysts. The potential for Rivian’s stock, according to the two analysts, indicates the widespread potential of the EV sector as a whole, regardless of the company. EV stocks are becoming one of the most highly-invested holdings available, driving valuations, and potential price targets for relatively unestablished companies through the roof, simply based on the astronomical potential each company holds to change the automotive industry and accelerate the adoption of EVs.
Both Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities and Adam Jonas of Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Rivian stock within the past few days. Ives, who holds relatively bullish outlooks on several tech stocks, including one of the highest 12-month outlooks on Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) on the Street, is also relatively bullish on Rivian stock. Ives and Wedbush initiated coverage with a $130 price target and an “Overweight” rating on Rivian, stating that the company “is a stalwart EV startup focusing on redefining the sports utility vehicle with their innovative R1S and R1T models. Rivian is in the catbird’s seat around EV pickups and SUVs.”
Rivian is the first company in the automotive sector to launch an all-electric pickup, beating Tesla, GMC, and Ford. Tesla’s Cybertruck, GMC’s Hummer EV, and Ford’s F-150 Lightning are highly anticipated, but Rivian has the accolade of being the first to launch a pickup, which could put the automaker in prime position to command the electric pickup sector, as long as it can solve some of the shortcomings related to range degradation that have been reported previously. Additionally, Rivian is still working to solve production ramp issues in its Normal, Illinois factory. These issues are not uncommon for newly-established car companies. Building vehicles is hard, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, told Rivian and Lucid that ramping manufacturing is difficult.
On top of Ives coverage, Adam Jonas of Morgan Stanley launched Rivian coverage as well with an “Overweight” rating and a $147 price target. Jonas lists Rivian’s R1T pickup as a “compelling product” and believes the company could be the most well-suited to challenge Tesla for market domination. The R1T gives Jonas the impression that it is “the most capable/desirable product in the market.”
Interestingly, Jonas believes that Rivian’s partnership with Amazon could yield results that are much quicker than projected. Currently, the two companies have an agreement for Rivian to supply Amazon with 100,000 all-electric delivery trucks by 2030. Jonas said in a note to investors that the 100,000 figure is “a stale number” and believes around 300,000 units of Rivian’s all-electric delivery vehicle will make their way to Amazon by 2026.
Ives holds a 72% success rate and an average return of 34.8%. He is ranked 31st out of 7,727 analysts on TipRanks. Jonas holds a 57% success rate with an average return of 14.5%. He is ranked 465 out of 7,727 analysts on TipRanks.
Disclosure: Joey Klender is a TSLA Shareholder. He does not hold RIVN stock.
I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.
Tesla stock (NASDAQ: TSLA) has landed an elusive “must own” status from Wall Street firm Melius, according to a new note released early this week.
Analyst Rob Wertheimer said Tesla will lead the charge in world-changing tech, given the company’s focus on self-driving, autonomy, and Robotaxi. In a note to investors, Wertheimer said “the world is about to change, dramatically,” because of the advent of self-driving cars.
He looks at the industry and sees many potential players, but the firm says there will only be one true winner:
“Our point is not that Tesla is at risk, it’s that everybody else is.”
The major argument is that autonomy is nearing a tipping point where years of chipping away at the software and data needed to develop a sound, safe, and effective form of autonomous driving technology turn into an avalanche of progress.
Wertheimer believes autonomy is a $7 trillion sector,” and in the coming years, investors will see “hundreds of billions in value shift to Tesla.”
A lot of the major growth has to do with the all-too-common “butts in seats” strategy, as Wertheimer believes that only a fraction of people in the United States have ridden in a self-driving car. In Tesla’s regard, only “tens of thousands” have tried Tesla’s latest Full Self-Driving (Supervised) version, which is v14.
Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.2 – Full Review, the Good and the Bad
When it reaches a widespread rollout and more people are able to experience Tesla Full Self-Driving v14, he believes “it will shock most people.”
Citing things like Tesla’s massive data pool from its vehicles, as well as its shift to end-to-end neural nets in 2021 and 2022, as well as the upcoming AI5 chip, which will be put into a handful of vehicles next year, but will reach a wider rollout in 2027, Melius believes many investors are not aware of the pace of advancement in self-driving.
Tesla’s lead in its self-driving efforts is expanding, Wertheimer says. The company is making strategic choices on everything from hardware to software, manufacturing, and overall vehicle design. He says Tesla has left legacy automakers struggling to keep pace as they still rely on outdated architectures and fragmented supplier systems.
Tesla shares are up over 6 percent at 10:40 a.m. on the East Coast, trading at around $416.
Investor's Corner
Tesla analyst maintains $500 PT, says FSD drives better than humans now
The team also met with Tesla leaders for more than an hour to discuss autonomy, chip development, and upcoming deployment plans.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) received fresh support from Piper Sandler this week after analysts toured the Fremont Factory and tested the company’s latest Full Self-Driving software. The firm reaffirmed its $500 price target, stating that FSD V14 delivered a notably smooth robotaxi demonstration and may already perform at levels comparable to, if not better than, average human drivers.
The team also met with Tesla leaders for more than an hour to discuss autonomy, chip development, and upcoming deployment plans.
Analysts highlight autonomy progress
During more than 75 minutes of focused discussions, analysts reportedly focused on FSD v14’s updates. Piper Sandler’s team pointed to meaningful strides in perception, object handling, and overall ride smoothness during the robotaxi demo.
The visit also included discussions on updates to Tesla’s in-house chip initiatives, its Optimus program, and the growth of the company’s battery storage business. Analysts noted that Tesla continues refining cost structures and capital expenditure expectations, which are key elements in future margin recovery, as noted in a Yahoo Finance report.
Analyst Alexander Potter noted that “we think FSD is a truly impressive product that is (probably) already better at driving than the average American.” This conclusion was strengthened by what he described as a “flawless robotaxi ride to the hotel.”
Street targets diverge on TSLA
While Piper Sandler stands by its $500 target, it is not the highest estimate on the Street. Wedbush, for one, has a $600 per share price target for TSLA stock.
Other institutions have also weighed in on TSLA stock as of late. HSBC reiterated a Reduce rating with a $131 target, citing a gap between earnings fundamentals and the company’s market value. By contrast, TD Cowen maintained a Buy rating and a $509 target, pointing to strong autonomous driving demonstrations in Austin and the pace of software-driven improvements.
Stifel analysts also lifted their price target for Tesla to $508 per share over the company’s ongoing robotaxi and FSD programs.
Investor's Corner
Tesla wins $508 price target from Stifel as Robotaxi rollout gains speed
The firm cited meaningful progress in Tesla’s robotaxi roadmap, ongoing Full Self-Driving enhancements, and the company’s long-term growth initiatives.
Tesla received another round of bullish analyst updates this week, led by Stifel, raising its price target to $508 from $483 while reaffirming a “Buy” rating. The firm cited meaningful progress in Tesla’s robotaxi roadmap, ongoing Full Self-Driving enhancements, and the company’s long-term growth initiatives.
Robotaxi rollout, FSD updates, and new affordable cars
Stifel expects Tesla’s robotaxi fleet to expand into 8–10 major metropolitan areas by the end of 2025, including Austin, where early deployments without safety drivers are targeted before year-end. Additional markets under evaluation include Nevada, Florida, and Arizona, as noted in an Investing.com report. The firm also highlighted strong early performance for FSD Version 14, with upcoming releases adding new “reasoning capabilities” designed to improve complex decision-making using full 360-degree vision.
Tesla has also taken steps to offset the loss of U.S. EV tax credits by launching the Model Y Standard and Model 3 Standard at $39,990 and $36,990, Stifel noted. Both vehicles deliver more than 300 miles of range and are positioned to sustain demand despite shifting incentives. Stifel raised its EBITDA forecasts to $14.9 billion for 2025 and $19.5 billion for 2026, assigning partial valuation weightings to Tesla’s FSD, robotaxi, and Optimus initiatives.
TD Cowen also places an optimistic price target
TD Cowen reiterated its Buy rating with a $509 price target after a research tour of Giga Texas, citing production scale and operational execution as key strengths. The firm posted its optimistic price target following a recent Mobility Bus tour in Austin. The tour included a visit to Giga Texas, which offered fresh insights into the company’s operations and prospects.
Additional analyst movements include Truist Securities maintaining its Hold rating following shareholder approval of Elon Musk’s compensation plan, viewing the vote as reducing leadership uncertainty.
@teslarati Tesla Full Self-Driving yields for pedestrians while human drivers do not…the future is here! #tesla #teslafsd #fullselfdriving ♬ 2 Little 2 Late – Levi & Mario
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