Although it spent most of the year in the red, Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) has managed to mount an impressive recovery in 2024. Whereas the first three quarters of 2024 were dominated by supply chain issues, generally disappointing results, and an underwhelming ‘Robotaxi Day’, the company’s Q3 2024 earnings call on October 23 was a standout success.
Since then, the price of Tesla stock has increased by 96.71%, from around $213 to $419 at press time. Year-to-date returns for TSLA stock stand at 68.73% — and there are several crucial tailwinds at play that seem to suggest that the carmaker is poised for even more impressive growth in 2025.
For one, chief executive officer (CEO) Elon Musk’s growing alliance with President-elect Donald Trump certainly seems to be paying off. Soon after being re-elected, Trump highlighted full self-driving as a priority — and he plans to ease regulations and restrictions in place.
Picks for you
Musk being named to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in a bid to cut down on allegedly wasteful spending in the public sector was yet another bullish catalyst.
However, Tesla stock is still marred by issues that have been in place for years — the most important of which are valuation concerns. While these external catalysts do occasionally have a pronounced effect on prices, they’re not long-term guarantees.
Wall Street analysts split on Tesla stock
Perhaps a bit surprisingly, recent positive developments have done little to sway the opinions of equity researchers. There are 34 analysts who track Tesla stock and issue ratings for it — and only 13 consider the stock a ‘Buy’, while 12 rate it a ‘Hold’ and 9 have ‘Sell’ ratings in place per TipRanks
To put it bluntly, there’s simply no consensus regarding Tesla. Price targets vary wildly, as well — from a low of just $24.86 to a high of $515. However, the average 12-month price target for TSLA stock is $293.76 — a figure that equates to a 29.8% downside compared to current prices.
Still, it’s important to remember that the lowest price target — $24.86, probably skews the average somewhat — but even accounting for that, it’s obvious that Wall Street has turned quite bearish when it comes to Tesla.
This could be shifting, however — on December 15 and 16, Truist Securities’ William Stein and Dan Ives of Wedbush raised their price targets — potentially signaling that major equity firms could slowly be changing their minds.
Featured image via Shutterstock
