Dan Ives, a widely followed Wedbush analyst, said Tesla shares will soar during a Trump re-election. Ives reiterated his outperform rating and raised his 12-month price target on the electric-vehicle maker to $400 from $300. The new forecast signals an upside of about 25% from Friday’s closing price. Ives said Donald Trump winning a second presidential term was the catalyst for the price target change. CEO Musk has been a staunch supporter of the president-elect. “We believe a Trump White House will change the self-driving and artificial intelligence story for Tesla and Musk in the coming years,” Ives wrote. Tesla’s artificial intelligence initiatives signal that The company began to transform from a simple automobile company into “the world’s leading disruptive technology company.” A Trump victory would further clear the federal regulatory cobwebs Tesla has encountered over the past few years. “Now the next step in Tesla’s broader strategic vision begins, the era of autonomous driving and artificial intelligence, because we believe Tesla remains the most undervalued area of artificial intelligence in the market today,” Ives said. Essentially, Musk made a big strategic bet on Trump winning the White House, which will be called an “eternal bet” for Tesla bulls because now Tesla and Musk Will benefit from the new, friendlier regulatory era. Ives predicts that the artificial intelligence and autonomous driving opportunities alone are worth about $1 trillion to Tesla. With this in mind, Tesla’s valuation. (currently just over $1 trillion) could rise to $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion in the next 12 to 18 months. A Trump victory also means a more pessimistic outlook for the entire electric vehicle industry, as tax rebates and tax incentives are more favorable. could be canceled. But that, combined with tougher China tariffs, could actually provide Tesla with another advantage. “Tesla has unparalleled scale and scope in the electric vehicle industry, and this dynamic could give Musk an edge. and Tesla gain a clear competitive advantage in a non-EV subsidy environment starting in 2025, coupled with likely higher tariffs in China, which will continue to drive down cheaper prices for Chinese EV players (BYD, NIO, etc.) Tesla’s stock price has risen by about 39% in 2024.
