Aniket Pujari
Shares of Tesla are set to soar under a second Trump presidency, according to widely followed analyst Dan Ives of Wedbush. Ives reiterated his outperform rating and hiked his 12-month price target for the electric vehicle manufacturer to $400 from $300. This new forecast signals about 25% upside from Friday’s close. Ives cited Donald Trump’s victory for a second presidential term as a catalyst for the price target change. CEO Elon Musk has been a strong advocate for the president-elect. “We believe the Trump White House win will be a gamechanger for the autonomous and AI story for Tesla and Musk over the coming years,” Ives wrote. Tesla’s artificial intelligence initiatives point to the company beginning its transformation from a mere car company to a “leading disruptive technology global player,” Ives wrote. A Trump win will further clear the federal regulatory spiderweb that Tesla has encountered over the past few years. “Now the next step in this broader Tesla strategic vision begins which is the autonomous and AI era as we believe Tesla remains the most undervalued AI play in the market today,” Ives said. “In essence, Musk made a strategic and big bet on a Trump White House win that will be known as a ‘bet for the ages’ for TSLA bulls as now Tesla and Musk are set to reap the benefits from a new friendlier regulatory era in the Beltway ahead.” Ives predicted the AI and autonomous opportunity alone was worth around $1 trillion for Tesla. With that in mind, Tesla’s valuation — currently at just more than $1 trillion — could march to between $1.5 trillion and $2 trillion over the next 12 to 18 months. A Trump win also means a more bearish outlook for the overall electric vehicle industry, since it is more likely that rebates and tax incentives will be pulled. But this, coupled with more stringent Chinese tariffs, could actually provide another advantage for Tesla. “Tesla has the scale and scope that is unmatched in the EV industry and this dynamic could give Musk and Tesla a clear competitive advantage in a non-EV subsidy environment starting in 2025, coupled by likely higher China tariffs that would continue to push away cheaper Chinese EV players (BYD, Nio, etc.) from flooding the US market over the coming years,” Ives added. Shares of Tesla have climbed around 39% in 2024. TSLA YTD mountain TSLA YTD chart
