Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) has gained a lot of steam over the past month, and Wedbush’s Global Head of Technology Research, Dan Ives, argues the momentum is going to continue in 2026.
Namely, in a post published on X on Monday, December 15, the analyst predicted that Tesla’s market cap could double and climb to $3 trillion in 2026, which, in his words, is shaping up to be a ‘monster year’ for the automaker.
“Heading into 2026 this marks a monster year ahead for Tesla/Musk as the autonomous and robotics chapter begins. We believe Tesla hits a $2 trillion market cap in 2026 and in a bull case scenario $3 trillion by end of 2026…as the AI chapter takes hold at TSLA,” Ives wrote.
Heading into 2026 this marks a monster year ahead for Tesla/Musk as the autonomous and robotics chapter begins. We believe Tesla hits a $2 trillion market cap in 2026 and in a bull case scenario $3 trillion by end of 2026…as the AI chapter takes hold at TSLA🍿🔥🏆🐂 @elonmusk
— Dan Ives (@DivesTech) December 15, 2025
The growth, the reasoning went, will be the result of Elon Musk’s emphasis on artificial intelligence (AI), specifically autonomous driving and robotics technology. This new chapter in the CEO’s book, the expert noted in a subsequent post, might push Tesla stock price to $800 next year.
A new Street-high Tesla stock price target?
Based on the TSLA share price of just north of $465 at press time, the new figure implies an upside potential of more than 70% and sits miles above the current Street-high price target of $600, also given by Ives.
Ives has likely gone more bullish now that Tesla has begun testing fully autonomous vehicles on public roads in Austin, Texas, where multiple Tesla Model Y units operated without a safety driver this weekend.
While the company has not disclosed how many vehicles are involved, nor whether the tests rely on chase cars or remote supervision, Musk confirmed that “testing is underway with no occupants in the car.”
Wedbush has been bullish on Tesla’s robo-taxi service for a while now. In a September 26 investor note, Ives expressed the brokerage’s belief that the car maker is taking major steps forward in its AI revolution, justifying his then $600 price forecast.
That said, there are still some headwinds the company will face in the following months, as 2025 sales, for instance, have been dropping. In other words, the key question is how quickly Tesla can scale its robo-taxi business in order to meet the analyst’s expectations in 2026.
Featured image via Shutterstock
