Tesla shares edged higher in early trading on Friday as Wall Street analysts raised their price targets on the electric-vehicle maker, citing optimism over its artificial intelligence-driven initiatives, robotaxi rollout, and humanoid robotics business.
The gains came despite fresh data showing a significant sales decline in Europe.
The Tesla stock rose 0.3 percent to $423.66, while broader equity markets also advanced.
The S&P 500 was up 0.6 percent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.8 percent in early trading.
The Tesla stock has gone up around 55% in the past six months.
Wedbush projects multi-trillion valuation on AI expansion
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives on Friday raised his Tesla price target to a Street-high of $600 from $500 a share, maintaining a Buy rating.
He highlighted the company’s efforts to expand into autonomous driving and robotics.
“Tesla is taking major steps in advancing its AI Revolution path with autonomous and robotics front and center heading into 2026,” Ives wrote.
He added that Tesla could reach a $2 trillion market capitalisation in early 2026 in a bull case scenario, with the potential to hit $3 trillion by the end of that year as large-scale production of autonomous vehicles and robots ramps up.
Tesla has been scaling up its self-driving taxi service, launched in June in Austin, Texas, and aims to begin selling meaningful volumes of its humanoid robot, Optimus, in 2026.
Deutsche Bank sees stronger deliveries ahead
Deutsche Bank also lifted its price target to $435 from $345 while keeping a Buy rating ahead of Tesla’s third-quarter delivery report, due next week.
The bank forecasts 461,500 vehicle deliveries for the quarter, flat year-over-year but up 20 percent from the prior quarter, and well ahead of consensus expectations of 433,000 units.
The growth outlook is attributed to the launch of the Model Y Long Range in China and pre-buying activity in the United States ahead of expiring federal EV incentives.
Analyst Edison Yu said Tesla’s focus on its robotaxi and Optimus initiatives, combined with the resolution of recent compensation uncertainties, positions the company as a leader in “embodied AI.”
European registrations continue to slide
Tesla’s recent gains came after shares fell more than 4 percent on Thursday following weak registration data in Europe.
According to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, Tesla’s EV registrations in the region dropped 23 percent in August from a year earlier, totaling 14,831 units. Year-to-date, registrations are down 32.6 percent.
By comparison, total EV registrations across Europe rose 26 percent over the same period, while petrol and diesel vehicle registrations fell more than 20 percent.
Despite the regional weakness, RBC analysts expect Tesla’s third-quarter deliveries could total 456,000 vehicles, above consensus estimates of 448,000.
They noted demand in the US could receive a boost from buyers rushing to secure the $7,500 federal EV tax credit before it expires at the end of September.
The post Why Tesla stock is making minor comeback after Thursday’s 4% fall appeared first on Invezz
