Investor's Corner
Tesla gets ‘Strong Buy’ rating amid Panasonic’s pledge to ramp Gigafactory 1 battery production
Tesla stock (NASDAQ:TSLA) recently received a vote of confidence from one of Wall Street’s veteran investment research firms. In a note on Tuesday, Zacks Investment Research upgraded Tesla from a “Hold” rating to a “Strong Buy” rating, citing the electric car maker’s strong performance in the third quarter. The research firm also gave TSLA a price target of $381, suggesting an upside of around 13% from the stock’s current price.
In its note to its clients, Zacks Investment Research pointed out that Tesla’s third-quarter figures show that the company is making progress despite meeting several challenges over the past quarters. The research firm further noted that Tesla’s upcoming focus on its energy business bodes well for the company’s potential in the future.
“In third-quarter 2018, Tesla’s earnings per share and revenues surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimates. Also, both earnings and revenues improved year over year. In third-quarter 2018, Tesla produced 80,142 vehicles. This included 53,239 Model 3s, and 26,903 Model S and Model X vehicles. Deliveries to customers amounted to 55,840 Model 3 along with 27,660 Model S and X.
“These numbers are close to estimates and indicate that the company is making good progress despite hurdles. The company is focusing to grow its energy storage deployment and aims to deploy at least three times of what is deployed in 2017. Over the past six months, shares of Tesla outperformed the industry it belongs to. Moreover, over the past one month, the Zacks Consensus Estimates for both the current quarter and current year earnings are moving upwards.”
An upgrade from Zacks Investment Research bodes well for Tesla stock. The research firm, after all, utilizes a quantitative stock-rating system, which relies entirely on mathematics. This means that the company’s findings and conclusions are unaffected by headwinds in Wall Street or any similar external factor. This approach has made Zacks the research firm of choice for over 200 brokerages, as well as numerous Wall Street analysts.
-->Tesla’s upgraded rating from Zacks comes amidst reports that Panasonic Corp has pledged to ramp the production of its battery cells at Tesla’s Gigafactory 1 in Nevada. In an announcement on Wednesday, Panasonic reported a decline in its quarterly profit due to the rising costs of its operations in the Gigafactory. Despite this, the Japanese company stated that it was in talks to augment its $1.6 billion investment and take capacity at Gigafactory 1 over the 35 GWh it is expected to reach by the end of March 2019.
In a statement to Reuters, Panasonic Chief Executive Kazuhiro Tsuga stated that as Tesla ramps its vehicle production, the battery maker will ramp battery production as well. The Panasonic executive further noted that while Elon Musk attracts a substantial amount of noise due to his behavior online, Tesla’s fundamentals seem to be stable.
“Investment for capacity beyond 35 GWh means that Tesla would also need to make substantial investment in vehicle production, so we will closely align with each other. Though Elon’s comments are unpredictable, we will continue to monitor Tesla’s operations to ensure no chaos there and will work in step with the company. But I don’t see the U.S. electric car maker’s business operations have been put into chaos,” Tsuga said.
Since ending the third quarter on a high note, Tesla appears to have hit overdrive with its Model 3 production ramp. In October alone, for example, Tesla registered more than 61,000 Model 3 VINs — equal to the total VINs the company filed during the first 11 months of the electric car’s production. Tesla has also introduced a new Mid Range Model 3 variant this month, which puts the electric sedan closer to its target $35,000 base price.
As of writing, Tesla stock is trading +2.02% at $336.53 per share.
-->Disclosure: I have no ownership in shares of TSLA and have no plans to initiate any positions within 72 hours.
Investor's Corner
Mizuho keeps Tesla (TSLA) “Outperform” rating but lowers price target
As per the Mizuho analyst, upcoming changes to EV incentives in the U.S. and China could affect Tesla’s unit growth more than previously expected.
Mizuho analyst Vijay Rakesh lowered Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) price target to $475 from $485, citing potential 2026 EV subsidy cuts in the U.S. and China that could pressure deliveries. The firm maintained its Outperform rating for the electric vehicle maker, however.
As per the Mizuho analyst, upcoming changes to EV incentives in the U.S. and China could affect Tesla’s unit growth more than previously expected. The U.S. accounted for roughly 37% of Tesla’s third-quarter 2025 sales, while China represented about 34%, making both markets highly sensitive to policy shifts. Potential 50% cuts to Chinese subsidies and reduced U.S. incentives affected the firm’s outlook.
With those pressures factored in, the firm now expects Tesla to deliver 1.75 million vehicles in 2026 and 2 million in 2027, slightly below consensus estimates of 1.82 million and 2.15 million, respectively. The analyst was cautiously optimistic, as near-term pressure from subsidies is there, but the company’s long-term tech roadmap remains very compelling.
Despite the revised target, Mizuho remained optimistic on Tesla’s long-term technology roadmap. The firm highlighted three major growth drivers into 2027: the broader adoption of Full Self-Driving V14, the expansion of Tesla’s Robotaxi service, and the commercialization of Optimus, the company’s humanoid robot.
“We are lowering TSLA Ests/PT to $475 with Potential BEV headwinds in 2026E. We believe into 2026E, US (~37% of TSLA 3Q25 sales) EV subsidy cuts and China (34% of TSLA 3Q25 sales) potential 50% EV subsidy cuts could be a headwind to EV deliveries.
-->“We are now estimating TSLA deliveries for 2026/27E at 1.75M/2.00M (slightly below cons. 1.82M/2.15M). We see some LT drivers with FSD v14 adoption for autonomous, robotaxi launches, and humanoid robots into 2027 driving strength,” the analyst noted.
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.
Tesla Full Self-Driving (FSD) testing gains major ground in Spain
Tesla FSD V14.2.1 is earning rave reviews from users in diverse conditions
