

Investor's Corner
Tesla’s volunteer-boosted Model 3 delivery weekend is a wake-up call for legacy auto
If social media posts and anecdotes from participating owners are any indication, it appears that Tesla’s volunteer-boosted Model 3 delivery weekend is looking to be a success. As Tesla’s volunteers aid the company in orienting large numbers of new owners with their vehicles, the demand for quality electric cars is becoming more evident than ever.
This weekend saw something remarkable happen in the Tesla community. With the company currently attempting to address Elon Musk’s self-dubbed “delivery logistics hell,” some owners of Tesla’s electric cars stepped forward to offer help. The idea was initially pitched by IGN reporter and Ride the Lightning podcast host Ryan McCaffrey on Twitter, and Elon Musk promptly greenlighted the suggestion, stating that any help would be greatly appreciated. The community mobilized itself immediately, and by Saturday, Tesla’s delivery centers had volunteers who were ready to help new owners with the features and functions of their electric cars. Even Elon Musk himself was in Fremont’s center, interacting with new owners.
Hanging out with @elonmusk while waiting for our new cars @Tesla pic.twitter.com/2UjGyYkD5u
— Bradley Wong (@brawong) September 23, 2018
Reports on social media and in forums such as the r/TeslaMotors subreddit suggest that Tesla’s volunteer-augmented delivery efforts have been largely successful. One such account came from r/TeslaMotors subreddit member and Model 3 owner u/jpbeans, who narrated his experience as a volunteer in one of Tesla’s delivery centers. According to the Model 3 owner, Tesla gave them Guest badges, and they ended up helping owners on several topics, from basics like opening the Model 3’s door handle, to navigating the car’s functions through the 15″ touchscreen.
On Twitter, similar accounts were shared. Twitter user @GuyTesla, who volunteered in Tesla’s Littleton delivery center on Saturday, even noted that a nearby Jaguar dealership inquired how Tesla would be able to store the vehicles being delivered to the site. When informed that the electric cars were not staying in the facility, the staff of the legacy automaker were reportedly a bit shocked.
Hilarious highlight of the day: The Jaguar dealers that had just moved in next-door to Tesla Littleton commented on all of the truck carriers of cars showing up, and asked, “where are you going to put all of these?” And the answer was “They aren’t staying.”
Sad faces…
— 🐍🎷 Tesla Guy 🎷🐍 (@GuyTesla) September 23, 2018
Inasmuch as the Littleton volunteer’s observations are but an anecdote in an otherwise busy delivery weekend, the demand for premium electric vehicles should be undeniable by now. Over the years, Tesla’s electric cars, despite the company’s teething challenges, proved successful in their respective segments. With the Model 3, Tesla has begun an attack into the mainstream auto market, and the electric sedan is starting to make some waves. In August alone, the Model 3 became the 5th best-selling passenger car in the US, being outsold only by the Toyota Camry, Honda Civic, Honda Accord, and the Toyota Corolla Family, all of which are lower-priced vehicles.
Tesla is pretty much unchallenged in the premium electric car market, though highly-anticipated competitors such as the Mercedes-Benz EQC and the Audi e-tron have recently been unveiled. While these vehicles have long been hyped as possible “Tesla-killers” due to their manufacturers having decades of experience in the auto industry, the performance of the vehicles, as well as their battery tech, seemed to be a bit subpar compared to Tesla’s electric cars. This was addressed by Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi recently, when he noted that contrary to a prevalent bear thesis, there is “no actual flood of competition coming” for Tesla’s vehicles.
The recent offerings of premium legacy automakers have caught the attention of Christina Bu, General Secretary of the Electric Vehicle Association in Norway. Norway is among the world’s leaders in the electric car transition, and it is one of the countries where Tesla’s vehicles hold a formidable place. After the reveal of some of Tesla’s competitors from legacy automakers, the EVA General Secretary proved unimpressed, calling on manufacturers to “stop pretending and start delivering” on real electric cars that have compelling performance and features. Bu further noted that the strong demand for affordable, decently-specced vehicles like the Kia Niro Electric and Hyundai KONA Electric, is proof that consumers are ready to embrace EVs.
Tesla is pretty much only halfway through its efforts of ramping the production of the Model 3. This third quarter, Tesla is aiming to produce 50,000-55,000 Model 3 — a record number of vehicles but still only a fraction of its planned 10,000/week production rate for the electric sedan. Tesla eventually plans to build 500,000 Model 3 per year, and its upcoming crossover SUV, the Model Y, is expected to hit a production rate of 1 million units per year. Even when the company achieves these targets, though, the auto industry could not transition into the electric car era on Tesla alone — other manufacturers, particularly those with decades of experience, must embrace the shift as well. As Norway’s General Secretary of the EVA noted, the time is now to “stop pretending and start delivering.”
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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