Tesla stock managed to eke out another gain Wednesday, in a volatile day of trading. Still, investors just might be relieved after CEO Elon Musk took yetanother job.
Tesla stock finished the day up 0.5% at $330.24 after rising almost 5% in early trading and then sinking into the red. The S&P 500 finished little changed and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.1%.
The Tesla stock moves follow President-elect Donald Trump’s Tuesday evening appointment of Musk to a newly created government-efficiency post in which Musk will be tasked with reducing waste to save taxpayers money. Trump also named Vivek Ramaswamy to share Musk’s workload.
The assignment isn’t without its quirks. What Trump is calling the “Department of Government Efficiency” doesn’t exist; creating a new department would require an act of Congress. Questions about conflict of interest have also been raised about Musk having any decision-making role in a government that is also tasked with regulating industries in which Musk’s companies operate.
And, while investors knew another job for Musk—who runs Tesla, SpaceX, X, xAI, and other companies—was a possibility, there is a risk he will stretch himself too thin, creating a problem for the car company.
“Adding Vivek is a positive surprise and should help Musk navigate the situation with DOGE,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, adding that Musk’s proximity to the president can benefit Tesla in the long run.
He rates Tesla shares Buy and has a $400 price target for the stock.
To be sure, the early move on Wednesday isn’t all Musk-related. There is postelection volatility to consider, too. Tesla stock was up for five consecutive days coming in a steep 6.1% drop on Tuesday.
Coming into Wednesday trading, shares have added about 31% since the Nov. 5 election. The average daily move, up or down, since then has been about 8%.
The rally has taken Tesla stock well beyond the average analyst price target aggregated by FactSet of about $240 a share. Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas rates Tesla stock Buy, but his price target is $310.
“Elon Musk’s entry into the political sphere has expanded investor thinking around Tesla’s fundamental outlook,” wrote Jonas on Tuesday. “Is the [stock valuation] re-rating temporary…or will Tesla begin to play a greater role in the US renewable/autonomous industrial complex?”
His bull case for Tesla stock is $500 a share. He wonders if that is in play as Musk takes on an expanded role in the U.S. government.
Potential benefits for Tesla range from fewer regulations to lower corporate tax rates and less EV competition if President Trump succeeds in rolling back some of the Biden-era EV subsidies.
The benefits have yet to be quantified by Wall Street. Analysts project 2025 earnings per share of about $3.30, according to FactSet, up from about $2.40 expected for 2024. That estimate hasn’t changed much since the election.
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