Tesla extends post-election rally after Wedbush boosts its price target

Wedbush Securities boosted its price target on Outperform-rated Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) to $400 after sizing up the U.S. election developments last week. Analyst Dan Ives and his team believe the Trump White House win will be a game changer for the autonomous and AI story for Tesla and Musk over the coming years.

“We estimate the AI and autonomous opportunity is worth $1 trillion alone for Tesla, and we fully expect under a Trump White House these key initiatives will now get fast tracked as the federal regulatory spiderweb that Musk & Co. have encountered over the past few years around FSD/autonomous clears significantly under a new Trump era.” highlighted Ives.

After Tesla’s (TSLA) market cap crossed $1 trillion last week, Ives thinks the march to a $1.5 trillion and $2 trillion valuation over the next 12 to 18 months has now begun, with FSD, autonomous penetration of Tesla’s (TSLA) installed base, and the launch of Cybercab seen as representing the golden gooses.

Key to the bullish thesis on Tesla (TSLA) is that autonomous fast tracking will be front and center for investors, as many of the 2026–2027 goals for Tesla (TSLA) could be accelerated to stay on track with the China timeline for autonomous currently underway. While EV tax credits getting pulled could be a negative for the industry, Tesla (TSLA) is seen having the scale and scope to have a clear competitive advantage in a non-EV subsidy environment starting in 2025.

Another tailwind seen for Tesla (TSLA) is higher China tariffs could continue to push away cheaper Chinese EV players such as BYD Company (OTCPK:BYDDF), NIO (NIO), and others from trying to flood the U.S. market over the coming years.

Shares of Tesla (TSLA) rose 6.6% in premarket action on Monday to $342.45 and are now up more than 35% since the U.S. election.