Tesla Inc (TSLA, Financial) shares gained about 3.5% on December 2, after Stifel analysts boosted their price target on Tesla shares from $287 to $411, the highest among Wall Street analysts. This 43% increase reflects optimism about regulatory tailwinds for Tesla's autonomous driving technology under a friendlier U.S. administration. Analysts see Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) program and Cybercab initiatives as key growth drivers, even as concerns persist about the company's traditional EV business due to a potential loss of federal EV tax credits.
While some skeptical observers believe that Tesla's past and present growth targets could create future pressures that erode the company's margins by threatening the market position of its core electric-car business, analysts now cheer Tesla's strategic shifts in artificial intelligence and autonomous driving, noting that these growth platforms create substantial long-term sales opportunities for Tesla and difficult-to-fathom instead of daunting prospects for the company's profits. It also gives investors a sense of comfort when they look at Tesla's performance in the broader tech-driven market, placing it better than other competitors in AI-based automotive technologies.
