Investor's Corner
Tesla (TSLA) analysts settle on bullish outlooks after impressive Q3 Earnings
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) revealed an impressive third-quarter in terms of production, deliveries, and profitability during its Q3 Earnings Call on October 21st. The quarter was referred to as “our best quarter in history” by CEO Elon Musk, and analysts at various Wall Street firms have revised their price target outlooks for the electric automaker.
Analysts at Baird, JMP Securities, Oppenheimer, Wedbush, and Canaccord Genuity all revised their outlooks for Tesla’s stock by increasing their price targets. The boost in PTs without a doubt came from Tesla’s impressive Q3 performance, but each analyst had their own reasoning for the figure they came up with.
Baird
Baird analysts Ben Kallo and David Katter bumped their price target to $488 from $450, marking the second time they’ve upgraded Tesla’s outlook in October. The Baird analysts also upgraded TSLA shares to “Outperform.” Interestingly, Kallo and Katter’s note to investors indicated that they were wrong for downgrading the stock to a “Neutral” rating in January, stating that their move was “too early.” After their revised “Neutral” rating, TSLA shares soared over 400% on the year.
“Clearly incorrect, we are now upgrading share as we think TSLA has the substantial access and ability to deploy capital, and has multiple ways to drive substantial revenue growth,” Baird’s note said to investors. “Tesla’s competitive moat over peers is substantial (and growing, enabled buy rapid capital deployment) and we think it is unlikely traditional OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] will be able to effectively compete over time.”
JMP Securities
Joseph Osha and Hilary Cauley of JMP Securities boosted their price targets for TSLA stock to $516 after the Q3 Earnings Call. The two analysts also upgraded the stock with an “Outperform” rating.
“In terms of the stock, we have tried to keep our eye on the horizon as opposed to being influenced by quarter-to-quarter developments. Even though commentary yesterday caused us to raise our outlook for 2021, it does not by itself give us cause to change our stance on the stock,” JMP wrote to investors in a note. “That said, we do believe the outlook for margins and for cash flow generation over the next several years appears to be higher than we thought. This impacts not only our financial model, but also the level of risk we assign to our 2025 outcome and the multiple we apply.”
Oppenheimer
Oppenheimer analyst Colin Rusch boosted his price target to $486 from $451 and also placed an “Outperform” rating on TSLA stock. Rusch is a notable Tesla bull who has advised long-term investors to buy the automaker’s stock “on any near-term weakness.” Additionally, Rusch has stated in the past that perhaps Tesla’s biggest advantage is software and Over-the-Air Updates, which have stumped legacy automakers.
In terms of the Q3 Earnings Call, Rusch’s outlook is based on financials and Tesla’s future developments. “We are encouraged by improving manufacturing margins and factory throughput, which gives us comfort in raising out-year GM estimates and PT,” he said. “We are watching closing for accelerating growth in recurring revenue from insurance, financing, software-driven applications like robotaxi’s, which may begin to shift valuation multiples higher.”
Wedbush
Wedbush’s Dan Ives boosted his Bull Case price target to $800 following the Q3 Earnings Call and reflects on the potential of Giga Shanghai’s output as a clear indicator of Tesla’s future success. While his base price target remained at $500 with a “Neutral” rating, Ives does see overwhelming EV demand growth playing out in Tesla’s favor.
“China remains the ‘hearts and lungs’ of the Tesla demand growth story playing out over the next year along with underlying Europe EV strength playing out in the field,” Ives wrote. “We are raising our bull case from $700 to $800 reflecting these improving demand/profitability dynamics heading into 2021 for Tesla despite a soft macro and COVID backdrop.”
Canaccord Genuity
Jed Dorsheimer of Canaccord Genuity maintained a “Hold” rating but boosted his price target to $419 from $377. Dorsheimer’s main outlook has been boosted based on Tesla’s focus on automotive manufacturing, which has been a main concern moving forward to increase efficiency and production output.
“TSLA remains a juggernaut in the EV space that deserves credit for the vision and willingness to challenge the status quo in auto manufacturing. We maintain our HOLD rating though, as we feel the bull-bear debate is unlikely to abate and valuation appears rich by any standard,” Dorsheimer’s note to investors stated.
Tesla recorded its fifth-consecutive quarterly profit, non-GAAP earnings of $0.76 per share, $809M GAAP operating income and a $5.9B increase in cash and cash equivalents.
Tesla (TSLA) crushes Q3 earnings with record profit, accelerates global growth
Disclaimer: Joey Klender is a TSLA Shareholder.
Elon Musk
SpaceX IPO could push Elon Musk’s net worth past $1 trillion: Polymarket
The estimates were shared by the official Polymarket Money account on social media platform X.
Recent projections have outlined how a potential $1.75 trillion SpaceX IPO could generate historic returns for early investors. The projections suggest the offering would not only become the largest IPO in history but could also result in unprecedented windfalls for some of the company’s key investors.
The estimates were shared by the official Polymarket Money account on social media platform X.
As noted in a Polymarket Money analysis, Elon Musk invested $100 million into SpaceX in 2002 and currently owns approximately 42% of the company. At a $1.75 trillion valuation following SpaceX’s potential $1.75 trillion IPO, that stake would be worth roughly $735 billion.
Such a figure would dramatically expand Musk’s net worth. When combined with his holdings in Tesla Inc. and other ventures, a public debut at that level could position him as the world’s first trillionaire, depending on market conditions at the time of listing.
The Bloomberg Billionaires Index currently lists Elon Musk with a net worth of $666 billion, though a notable portion of this is tied to his TSLA stock. Tesla currently holds a market cap of $1.51 trillion, and Elon Musk’s currently holds about 13% to 15% of the company’s outstanding common stock.
Founders Fund, co-founded by Peter Thiel, invested $20 million in SpaceX in 2008. Polymarket Money estimates the firm owns between 1.5% and 3% of the private space company. At a $1.75 trillion valuation, that range would translate to approximately $26.25 billion to $52.5 billion in value.
That return would represent one of the most significant venture capital outcomes in modern Silicon Valley history, with a growth of 131,150% to 262,400%.
Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company, invested $900 million into SpaceX in 2015 and is estimated to hold between 6% and 7% of the private space firm. At the projected IPO valuation, that stake could be worth between $105 billion and $122.5 billion. That’s a growth of 11,566% to 14,455%.
Other major backers highlighted in the post include Fidelity Investments, Baillie Gifford, Valor Equity Partners, Bank of America, and Andreessen Horowitz, each potentially sitting on multibillion-dollar gains.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk hints Tesla investors will be rewarded heavily
“Hold onto your Tesla stock. It’s going to be worth a lot, I think. That’s my bet,” Musk said.
Elon Musk recently hinted that he believes Tesla investors will be rewarded heavily if they continue to hold onto their shares, and he reiterated that in a new interview that the company released on its social accounts this week.
Musk is one of the most successful CEOs in the modern era and has mammothed competitors on the Forbes Net Worth List over the past year as his holdings in his various companies have continued to swell.
Tesla investors, especially those who have been holding shares for several years, have also felt substantial gains in their portfolios. Over the past five years, the stock is up over 78 percent. Since February 2019, nearly seven years ago to the day, the stock is up over 1,800 percent.
Musk said in the interview:
“Hold onto your Tesla stock. It’s going to be worth a lot, I think. That’s my bet.”
Elon Musk in new interview: “Hold on to your $TSLA stock. It’s going to be worth a lot, I think. That’s my bet.” pic.twitter.com/cucirBuhq0
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) February 26, 2026
It’s no secret Musk has been extremely bullish on his own companies, but Tesla in particular, because it is publicly traded.
However, the company has so many amazing projects that have an opportunity to revolutionize their respective industries. There is certainly a path to major growth on Wall Street for Tesla through its various future projects, including Optimus, Cybercab, Semi, and Unsupervised FSD.
- Optimus (Tesla’s humanoid robot): Musk has discussed its potential for tasks like childcare, walking dogs, or assisting elderly parents, positioning it as a massive long-term driver of company value.
- Cybercab (Tesla’s robotaxi/autonomous ride-hailing vehicle): a fully autonomous vehicle geared specifically for Tesla’s ride-sharing ambitions.
- Semi (Tesla’s electric truck, with mentions of expansion, like in Europe): brings Tesla into the commercial logistics sector.
- Unsupervised FSD (Full Self-Driving software achieving full autonomy without human supervision): turns every Tesla owner’s vehicle into a fully-autonomous vehicle upon release
These projects specifically are some of the highest-growth pillars Tesla has ever attempted to develop, especially in Musk’s eyes, as he has said Optimus will be the best-selling product of all-time.
Many analysts agree, but the bullish ones, like Cathie Wood of ARK Invest, are perhaps the one who believes Tesla has incredible potential on Wall Street, predicting a $2,600 price target for 2030, but this is not even including Optimus.
She told Bloomberg last March that she believes that the project will present a potential additive if Tesla can scale faster than anticipated.
Elon Musk
Tesla stock gets latest synopsis from Jim Cramer: ‘It’s actually a robotics company’
“Turns out it’s actually a robotics and Cybercab company, and I want to buy, buy, buy. Yes, Tesla’s the paper that turned into scissors in one session,” Cramer said.
Tesla stock (NASDAQ: TSLA) got its latest synopsis from Wall Street analyst Jim Cramer, who finally realized something that many fans of the company have known all along: it’s not a car company. Instead, it’s a robotics company.
In a recent note that was released after Tesla reported Earnings in late January, Cramer seemed to recognize that the underwhelming financials and overall performance of the automotive division were not representative of the current state of affairs.
Instead, we’re seeing a company transition itself away from its early identity, essentially evolving like a caterpillar into a butterfly.
The narrative of the Earnings Call was simple: We’re not a car company, at least not from a birds-eye view. We’re an AI and Robotics company, and we are transitioning to this quicker than most people realize.
Tesla stock gets another analysis from Jim Cramer, and investors will like it
Tesla’s Q4 Earnings Call featured plenty of analysis from CEO Elon Musk and others, and some of the more minor details of the call were even indicative of a company that is moving toward AI instead of its cars. For example, the Model S and Model X will be no more after Q2, as Musk said that they serve relatively no purpose for the future.
Instead, Tesla is shifting its focus to the vehicles catered for autonomy and its Robotaxi and self-driving efforts.
Cramer recognizes this:
“…we got results from Tesla, which actually beat numbers, but nobody cares about the numbers here, as electric vehicles are the past. And according to CEO Elon Musk, the future of this company comes down to Cybercabs and humanoid robots. Stock fell more than 3% the next day. That may be because their capital expenditures budget was higher than expected, or maybe people wanted more details from the new businesses. At this point, I think Musk acolytes might be more excited about SpaceX, which is planning to come public later this year.”
He continued, highlighting the company’s true transition away from vehicles to its Cybercab, Optimus, and AI ambitions:
“I know it’s hard to believe how quickly this market can change its attitude. Last night, I heard a disastrous car company speak. Turns out it’s actually a robotics and Cybercab company, and I want to buy, buy, buy. Yes, Tesla’s the paper that turned into scissors in one session. I didn’t like it as a car company. Boy, I love it as a Cybercab and humanoid robot juggernaut. Call me a buyer and give me five robots while I’m at it.”
Cramer’s narrative seems to fit that of the most bullish Tesla investors. Anyone who is labeled a “permabull” has been echoing a similar sentiment over the past several years: Tesla is not a car company any longer.
Instead, the true focus is on the future and the potential that AI and Robotics bring to the company. It is truly difficult to put Tesla shares in the same group as companies like Ford, General Motors, and others.
Tesla shares are down less than half a percent at the time of publishing, trading at $423.69.