Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) stock closed Tuesday’s trading session at $332.11, gaining 6.09% over the past five days ahead of its second-quarter earnings report, scheduled for release Wednesday, July 23, after the bell.
While the EV giant has recovered some of its early 2025 losses, it remains down 12.44% year-to-date as a deteriorating relationship between CEO Elon Musk and President Trump weighs on the optimism that drove the company’s strong performance in late 2024.
The earnings report arrives as broader markets surge, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq reaching all-time highs on Monday.
For Tesla specifically, investor attention has shifted to two critical areas: the struggling core automotive business and the future trajectory of the company’s robotaxi rollout.
Dan Ives sets $500 price target
Dan Ives, a major Tesla bull at Wedbush Securities, maintains an aggressive $500 price target, representing a potential 50% upside from current levels. His bullish stance centers on what he describes as a fundamental shift in CEO Elon Musk’s approach to leading the company.
“The set-up into Tesla earnings tomorrow after the bell is a dramatically different one than 3 months ago,” Ives noted. “While on the April earnings call the big focus was Musk officially leaving the Trump Administration and pressure to refocus on being CEO on Tesla….now investors are seeing more of a ‘wartime CEO’ as Elon is laser focused on the Robotaxi expansion in Austin with more cities soon on the docket for this key autonomous initiative.”
Ives believes Tesla stands at a “positive crossroads” with multiple catalysts aligning, including AI initiatives around a potential xAI investment that would require shareholder approval later this year. The analyst sees autonomous driving as a trillion-dollar opportunity alone for Tesla over the next few years.
One area of particular optimism is Tesla’s performance in China, which Ives describes as “the heart and lungs of the TSLA growth story.” After months of declining sales due to increased competition from BYD, Nio, and Xpeng, Tesla saw a rebound in June with sales increasing for the first time in eight months, driven by higher demand for the updated Model Y.
Wall Street 12-month forecasts
Broader Wall Street sentiment remains vastly divided. Based on 34 analysts offering 12-month price targets, the average sits at $299.52, representing an 8.82% downside from current levels. Indeed, the range is remarkably wide, from Ives’s high of $500 to a bear case low of $19.05.
For the upcoming quarter, Wall Street expects total revenues of approximately $22 billion, with automotive revenues around $16 billion, gross margins excluding credits in the 13% to 14% range, and earnings per share of $0.39.
“While near-term and this quarter the numbers are nothing to write home about, we believe investors are instead focused on the AI future at Tesla with a motivated Musk back driving Tesla’s future,” Ives concluded, as investors prepare to listen for updates on the company’s ambitious AI-driven initiatives.
Featured image via Shutterstock.
