Tesla continues to hit new highs, Wedbush: seeing $515!
Wedbush: Musk's alignment with (Trump), autonomous driving, humanoid robots, and new models are key factors
Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities and a Tesla bull, stated that he will raise the target stock price for the electric vehicle giant Tesla from $400 to $515 in the base case scenario (an increase of 18.1%) and to $650 in the bull case scenario (an increase of 49%).
Other analysts have also raised their target prices for Tesla:
On December 3rd, Eastern Time, Craig Irwin, an analyst at Roth MKM, upgraded Tesla to a buy rating and raised the target price from $85 to $380.
On December 6th, Eastern Time, Ronald Jewsikow, an analyst at Guggenheim, maintained a sell rating on Tesla and raised the target price from $156 to $175.
On December 10th, Eastern Time, Adam Jonas, an analyst at Morgan Stanley, maintained a buy rating on Tesla and raised the target price from $310 to $400.
Why do major firms keep raising their target prices for Tesla while it continues to hit new highs?
First, there are political factors. Tesla's billionaire founder and CEO Elon Musk has a close relationship with Trump.
Dan Ives wrote on his X, "Raising Tesla's target stock price to $515 because we believe the Trump White House will be a 'game changer' for Tesla and Musk in the fields of autonomous driving and artificial intelligence in the coming years." Tesla CEO Elon Musk spent over $250 million in November to help Trump get elected president, establishing a strong friendship between the two.
On December 13th, reports indicated that Trump's transition team, responsible for formulating a 100-day strategy for automotive policy, hopes the incoming government will cancel the requirement to report accidents when advanced driver assistance or autonomous driving technology is used within 30 seconds of a collision. Tesla has been critical of this requirement. This move could weaken the government's ability to investigate and regulate the safety of autonomous driving systems. The cancellation of the accident disclosure clause is particularly beneficial for Tesla.
In November, there were also reports that Trump plans to terminate the $7,500 consumer tax credit for purchasing electric vehicles under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Musk subsequently wrote on X, "In my opinion, we should terminate all government subsidies for traditional fossil fuels, including subsidies for electric vehicles, oil, and gas."
Secondly, the overseas consumer market, especially driven by the strong delivery demand in China, predicts that Tesla's market value could reach $2 trillion by the end of 2025.
Recently, Tesla has been making significant moves in the Chinese market. On December 13, Tesla officially announced the launch of the "Advanced Smart Summon (ASS)" feature, which supports the vehicle's automatic parking from various parking spaces, including horizontal, vertical, and diagonal. Users can "summon" their vehicles remotely through the mobile app.
On November 25, Tesla launched a down payment reduction activity in China, where from November 25 to December 31, the down payment for the rear-wheel drive version and long-range all-wheel drive version of the Tesla Model Y was reduced by 10,000 yuan, starting at a price of 239,900 yuan, and users could also choose a 5-year interest-free financing plan. According to incomplete statistics, Tesla has conducted at least six price reductions or promotional activities in the Chinese market this year.
In November 2024, Tesla's wholesale sales in China reached 78,900 units, setting a new high for the year. By December, Tesla's momentum continued, with sales in the Chinese market reaching 21,900 units from December 2 to December 8, setting the highest weekly sales record since the fourth quarter of this year.
It can be seen that in the overseas market, especially in China, as Tesla's stock price hits new highs, the demand for Tesla continues to reach new heights. In such a hot market atmosphere, Wedbush research analysts also predicted that Tesla could reach $2 trillion by the end of 2025.
Thirdly, Tesla will continue to launch a series of plans to boost consumption, such as introducing an affordable electric vehicle in early 2025.
According to reports, Tesla is preparing to launch a new model in early 2025, targeting the budget-conscious segment of the market. The company hinted at using innovative manufacturing technologies to reduce production costs, potentially positioning the vehicle as a game-changer in affordable electric vehicles. This news has sparked speculation about how it will affect Tesla's competitiveness and market share against other manufacturers. Dan Ives pointed out that this could enhance its vehicle demand and market competitive position.
At the same time, Tesla has officially begun shipping the highly anticipated Cybertruck; early models will be available in December. The unique appearance and cutting-edge technology of the Cybertruck have generated strong pre-order data, attracting analysts' attention to the pickup market, which is typically dominated by traditional companies Finally, Wedbush believes that the Optimus humanoid robot is a significant long-term growth driver for Tesla, but in this valuation of Tesla's stock price by Wedbush, the impact of the Tesla Optimus humanoid robot on Tesla's market value was excluded. Dan Ives stated that the robot "could be the main upward catalyst for the Tesla story."
The industry refers to this year as the inaugural year for the commercialization of humanoid robots. Several companies, including Optimus, are looking forward to commercial prospects and are targeting industrial applications as the first landing point for commercialization. The humanoid robot industry chain has a considerable overlap with the automotive industry chain. Not only are automotive companies like Tesla and Xiaomi entering the humanoid robot space, but recent cases also show that the automotive industry has become a preferred scenario for the commercialization of many humanoid robots. It is believed that in the near future, the Tesla Optimus humanoid robot will provide remarkable support for Tesla's stock price