Wedbush analysts have batted off fears around declining sales at Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) and stuck with a bullish stance ahead of the “biggest innovation and technology cycle” in its history.
Aside from reiterating an ‘outperform’ rating and $550 share price target, Wedbush added Tesla to its ‘best ideas list’.
“There have been a number of times in the Tesla story over the past decade that negative sentiment and Street worries have overshadowed the narrative of this unique disruptive global tech story,” analysts acknowledged.
However, the release of a sub-$35,000 model and full self-driving launch in Texas later this year were seen as key to getting the carmaker back on track.
“Autonomous will be the biggest transformation to the auto industry in modern day history and, in our view, Tesla will own the autonomous market in the US and globally.”
Automation could be worth $1 trillion to Tesla alone on a sum-of-the-parts valuation, according to Wedbush, as rivals adopt its self-driving technology.
Wedbush also noted Musk was expected to refocus efforts from the Department of Government Efficiency and back to Tesla as the year went on.
“We continue to believe the best thing that ever happened to Musk and Tesla was Trump in the White House as this will create a deregulatory environment with a federal autonomous roadmap central to the Tesla golden strategic vision.”