Tesla is preparing to report its earnings, and Wedbush analyst Dan Ives is upgrading his bullish call, reaffirming an Outperform rating and a $500 price target on the electric vehicle (EV) and technology-related company. Such optimism is based on a positive view of Tesla’s focus on artificial intelligence (AI) and robotaxi business, which CEO Elon Musk appears determined to pursue, as these could redefine the company’s future growth potential.
As Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) stock currently sits at about $330 in value as of the middle of July, the target price set at Wedbush would allow the company to rise about 65% in value, indicating that the business analysts there feel there is a strong probability that Tesla is breaking into a new period of technological superiority that goes beyond EVs. Even Wall Street bets big on Tesla that it will hit $750 by year’s end.
“Tesla is not just an auto company — it’s an AI and robotics platform in the making,” said Ives in a client note. “The company’s future is increasingly being driven by its software, autonomous, and AI capabilities.”
Robotaxi and AI at the Forefront
What is particularly prominent in the change in roadmap is that Tesla is putting a sudden focus on autonomous vehicles, and especially the robotaxi platform. With the release of the robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, hopes are high that this will mark the start of Tesla being a full-fledged mobility services provider market that has the potential of a trillion dollars.
According to Wedbush, the self-driving features of Tesla alone could reach a full trillion dollars within a decade, owing to software licensing, subscription, and fleet usage. Ives said, The robotaxi opportunity is game-changing. The complete self-driving stack (FSD) developed by Tesla is now actually taking off, and with success, it will lead to a completely new type of recurring revenue stream. Dave Portnoy also supports this sentiment, as he also bought $10 million worth of TSLA stocks.
xAI Implementation and Investor Consent
To make the fire worse, there is another parallel project of Musk called xAI that may become a strategic asset of Tesla. Musk has said that Tesla and xAI may integrate, more so in the area of AI training infrastructure and real-time inference engines.
Ives said, I consider any convergence with xAI as a big strategic plus. Tesla is already developing some of the most sophisticated AI infrastructure on Earth, and an official collaboration with xAI would speed up the process, particularly in the development of autonomous vehicles and humanoid robots.
Some critics have expressed their fears that it might be a case of a conflict of interest, but Ives dismissed the threat, saying that by tapping into the synergies between his various companies, Musk had created exponential returns in the past.
Final Thoughts
The transition to Tesla becoming a full-spectrum AI/robotics enterprise creates a once-in-a-generation investment opportunity that analysts like Dan Ives do not see going to waste. Tesla may be setting itself up for a future that could be even more profitable than the car business, with self-driving technology promising to bring in billions more in highly profitable revenue, and with strategic alliances, means better artificial intelligence on the horizon.
Remains to be seen whether Tesla will be able to fulfill its incredibly big promises, but one thing is clear: Wedbush is betting that it will and that its investors, who will be able to see the bigger picture, will also be rewarded.
