Tesla shares moved slightly higher on Friday morning after Wall Street analysts raised their outlook on the company. Optimism over Tesla’s artificial intelligence projects, robotaxi rollout, and humanoid robotics plans fueled the upgrades.
The stock gained 0.3 percent to $423.66 in early trading. Broader markets were also strong, with the S&P 500 up 0.6 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 0.8 percent. Tesla has now risen about 55 percent in the past six months.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives lifted his price target to $600, the highest on Wall Street, up from $500. He kept a Buy rating and described Tesla as being at the center of an “AI Revolution.” Ives said Tesla could be worth $2 trillion as early as 2026 in a bullish scenario, with potential to hit $3 trillion by the end of that year if robotaxi and humanoid robot production scale up as planned.
Tesla has already launched its driverless taxi service in Austin, Texas, and is aiming to sell large numbers of its humanoid robot, Optimus, in 2026.
Deutsche Bank also raised its target, moving to $435 from $345. The bank expects Tesla to report 461,500 vehicle deliveries for the third quarter, flat from a year ago but up 20 percent from the prior quarter. That would beat Wall Street’s forecast of 433,000 units. Analysts credited new demand for the Model Y Long Range in China and a rush of U.S. buyers looking to lock in the $7,500 federal EV tax credit before it expires.
Edison Yu of Deutsche Bank said Tesla’s focus on robotaxis and robotics, combined with clarity on executive pay issues, positions it as a leader in “embodied AI.”
Still, not all of Tesla’s numbers are rosy. European sales remain under pressure. Data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association showed Tesla’s registrations in the region dropped 23 percent in August compared to last year, down to 14,831 vehicles. For the year so far, Tesla’s European registrations have fallen more than 32 percent.
The weakness stands out because total EV registrations in Europe rose 26 percent over the same period, even as petrol and diesel car sales plunged more than 20 percent.
Despite this slump, RBC expects Tesla to deliver about 456,000 vehicles in the third quarter, above consensus estimates of 448,000. Analysts there said U.S. demand is likely to get another lift from tax-credit driven purchases before the end of September.