Key Takeaways
- Shares of Tesla wavered between gains and losses Thursday after the company turned in a return to sales growth but also reported profits lighter than investors expected.
- Bullish analysts continue to buy into Elon Musk’s longer-term vision and see better days ahead of the stock. Bears, meanwhile—even those who appreciate Musk—are deep in the details.
Tesla’s monthslong upward run has slowed. That has investors contemplating what’s next for the stock with a vote on a huge new pay package for its chief just around the corner.
Shares of the EV maker and would-be AI giant wavered between gains and losses Thursday afternoon, after the company last night turned in third-quarter financial results that included some upbeat news—a return to year-over-year quarterly sales growth, for example—but also earnings per share that came in lower than Wall Street analysts expected. Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk used the conference call to restate his longer-term vision, but investors are showing some signs of wariness.
The stock has pulled back about 3% from its highs earlier this month, cutting into the year-to-date gains the stock had managed after climbing off spring lows. Meanwhile, how to think about Tesla—as a carmaker with global ambitions, a trade on Musk’s aspirations, or something in between—is a familiar topic for investors. In the wake of the Q3 results, the takes of bullish and bearish analysts detail the latest subjects in the debate.
Why This Matters to Investors
The Tesla stock ride has always meant some volatility, and today is no exception. The stock initially slipped before making a comeback in recent trading, indicating at least some short-term wariness about what price investors should be willing to pay to be part of Elon Musk’s vision.
At Wedbush, analyst Dan Ives—one of the Street’s big Tesla bulls, with a $600 price target that is nearly 60% above the Visible Alpha average near $378 and roughly 40% higher than Wednesday’s close—says the focus was as much on autonomy, robotaxis, and Optimus robots as car sales. (Musk last night said Tesla’s AI strategy is at an “inflection point.”)
“We continue to believe Tesla could reach a $2 trillion market cap in early 2026 in a bull case scenario and $3 trillion by the end of 2026 as the golden AI chapter takes hold at Tesla,” Wedbush wrote. (Tesla’s current market cap is around $1.4 trillion.)
JPMorgan’s analysts have a $150 price target on the shares—among the lowest tracked by Visible Alpha—even as they cite “bold” products, “visionary leadership,” and a sense that “technology and execution risk seem substantially less than was once feared.” The analysts cut their earnings-per-share estimates through 2027, citing concerns about spending and operating expenses.
“Expansion into higher volume segments with lower price points seems fraught with greater risk relative to demand, execution, and competition,” they wrote.
The next big milestone for Tesla is due early next month, with shareholders set to advance on an incentive-laden pay proposal that could make Musk a trillionaire. Some proxy firms are urging shareholders to vote against the package; on its X account, Tesla says Musk “is the CEO that can make this ambitious vision a reality.”
Related Education
This article has been updated since it was first published to reflect more recent stock prices.