Connect with us

Investor's Corner

Tesla (TSLA) gets higher price target from Wedbush Securities

Credit: Tesla North America/X

Published

on

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) has received yet another vote of confidence from Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives. 

In a recent note, Ives highlighted that Tesla’s autonomous driving program could have some breakthroughs in the Trump administration.

Wedbush Securities’ update: 

  • In a note, Ives stated that Wedbush is raising its price target for Tesla stock from $515 per share to $550 per share. 
  • This is partly due to the firm’s growing confidence in the demand delivery story for the electric vehicle maker this 2025. 
  • Wedbush is also expecting Tesla’s FSD program to get fast-tracked by the Trump administration.
  • In a follow-up post on X, Ives explained that Wedbush’s already optimistic $550 per share price target does not include Optimus yet. 
  • That being said, Ives did note that he has a bull case price target of $650 per share for the electric vehicle maker.
  • Overall, Ives noted that this could be the golden era for Musk and Tesla.

Ives’ take: 

  • “We have growing confidence in the demand delivery story for 2025 along with a fast tracking of the autonomous future under the Trump Administration. Our time spent speaking to many in the Beltway the last few weeks give us a growing confidence the Trump White House the next 4 years will be a ‘total game changer’ for the autonomous and AI story for Tesla and Musk over the coming years. Our bull case remains $650 for 2025.
  • “We believe Tesla could reach a $2 trillion market cap by the end of 2025 as the company’s autonomous vision starts to take shape along with very solid Tesla delivery demand we expect from the core China market in 2025 with positive commentary from Musk/Tesla we expect next week on the earnings call. Importantly, our price target conservatively assumes no value today for Optimus which could be a major upside catalyst for the Tesla story,” Ives noted.

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

Comments

Investor's Corner

BYD to overtake Tesla in BEV sales this 2025: Counterpoint Research

Counterpoint’s insights were shared by the market researcher on its official website.

Published

on

BYD-5-minute-ev-charging
(Credit: BYD)

Counterpoint Research has estimated that Chinese automaker BYD will be able to overtake American electric car maker Tesla in Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) sales this 2025.

Counterpoint’s insights were shared by the market researcher on its official website.

The (Counter)Point

Counterpoint Research’s latest Global Passenger EV Forecast suggests that BYD will be capturing a 15.7% global market share this year. This is expected to be driven by scale, innovation, and strong backing from the Chinese government.

The market researcher highlighted a number of factors that could help BYD become the world’s premier BEV maker this year. These include the company’s 1,000-kW ultra-fast charging technology and 10C charging rate batteries, which exceed Tesla’s current Supercharger offerings.

“The system can deliver 400 km of range in just 5 minutes, setting a new industry benchmark, far outpacing Tesla’s Supercharger, which adds about 275 km in 10 minutes. This technological leap is expected to significantly ease consumer concerns around charging time and boost EV adoption by reducing charging anxiety,” Abhik Mukherjee, Research Analyst at Counterpoint, stated

Advertisement

The Tesla Factor

Counterpoint argued that Tesla, in comparison, is confronting several challenges, from damaged public perception due to CEO Elon Musk’s politics to geopolitical tensions between the United States and key markets like China. The market researcher highlighted Tesla’s soft sales in Europe and other markets, though it did not seem to consider the company’s changeover to the new Model Y across its global factories in Q1 2025.

“CEO Elon Musk has scored somewhat of an own goal against Tesla, and we are about to catch a glimpse of how much the company’s sales were hurt in Q1 2025. This is a big opportunity for BYD and if they deliver on the fast-charging promise, this could be the turning point for BYD and the China BEV story globally,” Counterpoint Associate Director Liz Lee stated.

Not the First Forecast

As noted in a CNEV Post report, this is not the first time that Counterpoint has predicted that BYD will overtake Tesla’s BEV sales. Last July, the market researcher expected BYD to overtake Tesla in 2024 to become the world’s top BEV maker. Tesla still beat BYD’s BEV sales at the end of 2024, however, with the American EV maker delivering a total of 1,789,226 vehicles globally versus the Chinese automaker’s 1,764,992 units.

In Q1 2025, however, BYD does seem to have momentum. BYD sold 416,388 passenger BEVs in the first quarter. As per Tesla’s Q1 vehicle delivery and production report, the company was able to deliver a total of 336,681 vehicles in the first quarter of 2025.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Elon Musk

Tesla bull Wedbush responds to Q1 deliveries: ‘A disaster on every metric’

Published

on

Credit: diagnosticdennis/Instagram and @smile__no via Tesla Owners of Santa Clarita Valley/X

Tesla bull Wedbush has responded to the company’s lackluster Q1 delivery figures, which were released on Wednesday morning in a new note from analyst Dan Ives.

Tesla reported deliveries of 336,681 vehicles in the first quarter of the year, a far cry from the Wall Street estimate of 352,000 and whisper numbers of roughly 350,000. At first glance, it seems to be a disaster, but Tesla said it lost “several weeks of production” in Q1 due to the ramp of the new Model Y at all four of its vehicle production factories.

Tesla (TSLA) reports 336,681 vehicle deliveries for Q1 2025

This could be part of the reason that the company experienced a quarter of this performance, but there are also factors stemming from CEO Elon Musk’s involvement in the U.S. government, which has created some pushback in various markets.

It’s tough to say how much of each issue caused this type of quarter, but Ives wrote in a note to investors that Wedbush could not look at this “with rose-colored glasses,” as the performance “was a disaster on every metric.”

Ives believes it is time for Musk to make a move:

“The Street and us knew a bad 1Q was coming but this was even worse than expected. The time has come for Musk….it’s a fork in the road moment. The more political he gets with DOGE the more the brand suffers, there is no debate. This quarter was an example of the damage Musk is causing Tesla. This continues to be a moment of truth for Musk to navigate this brand tornado crisis moment and get onto the other side of this dark chapter for Tesla with much better days ahead.”

Interestingly, the stock dropped over 5 percent after the delivery report. It quickly rebounded 8 percent and is currently up over 5 percent on the day after a report from Politico stated that Musk and President Donald Trump have discussed the CEO stepping back from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Based on that, it seems that investors were looking for Musk to step back from his government duties and show more public attention to Tesla. Realistically, we do not know how much of his time is being devoted to Tesla and its EV initiative. However, it seems investors were ready to hear something along the lines of Musk being more involved and speaking openly about Tesla and its projects.

It’s not all bad. Ives still recognizes Tesla’s prowess with the rollout of robotaxi and Full Self-Driving and how much impact it could have moving forward:

“Autonomous remains the biggest transformation to the auto industry in modern-day history and in our view, Tesla will own the autonomous market in the US and globally with the launch of unsupervised FSD in Austin kicking off the autonomous era at Tesla that we value at $1 trillion alone on a sum-of-the-parts valuation…”

With that being said, he also wants Musk to balance responsibilities with DOGE and Tesla:

“BUT…Musk needs to stop this political firestorm and balance being CEO of Tesla with DOGE. The future is so bright but this is a full blown crisis Tesla is navigating now and its primarily self-inflected. We remain firmly bullish on the long-term Tesla story but Musk needs to get his act together or else unfortunately darker times are ahead for Tesla.”

Tesla shares are trading at $283.01, up 5.42% at 1:57 p.m. on the East Coast.

Continue Reading

Investor's Corner

Tesla (TSLA) shares date for “Company Update” and Q1 2025 earnings call

Tesla seems to be planning something slightly different for the upcoming event.

Published

on

Credit: Tesla China

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) has announced the date for its upcoming first quarter 2025 earnings call. 

Interestingly enough, the company seems to be planning something slightly different for the upcoming event.

Tesla Q1 2025 Earnings Call Date

As shared by Tesla in its Q1 2025 vehicle production and delivery report, the company would be holding its first-quarter earnings call on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, at 4:30 p.m. Central Time / 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time. Similar to past earnings calls, the event will be livestreamed. An archived version of the session would also be shared on the company’s website.

Prior to the earnings call, Tesla will be releasing its Q1 2025 Update Letter. The Q1 2025 Update Letter will be released after markets close on April 22.

A Company Update

Tesla enthusiasts and TSLA bulls have observed that the electric vehicle maker adjusted its wording a bit in its Q1 2025 vehicle delivery and production report. As could be seen in the release, Tesla noted that it would also be holding a “Company Update” on April 22. This is the first time that such an event has been referenced by the electric vehicle maker with its quarterly earnings call.

Advertisement

“In addition to posting first quarter results, Tesla management will hold a live company update and question and answer webcast that day,” Tesla wrote in its Q1 2025 vehicle delivery and production report. Tesla also referenced a “Company Update” in a post on its official X account.

Expectations are high that Tesla will discuss some of its highly anticipated projects during its Company Update. These may include, among other things, new affordable vehicles that were mentioned in the Q4 and Full Year 2024 Update Letter.

“Plans for new vehicles, including more affordable models, remain on track for start of production in the first half of 2025. These vehicles will utilize aspects of the next generation platform as well as aspects of our current platforms and will be produced on the same manufacturing lines as our current vehicle line-up,” Tesla wrote.

Continue Reading

Trending