Dan Ives is prone to using sports metaphors and quips like it's a “white-knuckle moment” for investors. It seems the Tesla ( TSLA ) uber-bull is having a white-knuckle moment of his own.
The Wedbush tech analyst said CEO Elon Musk needs to refocus on Tesla after a brutal three-month stretch for Tesla stock.
“Musk needs to change course here ... Tesla's future depends on it,” Ives said, adding that Tesla is going through a “crisis” and that Musk is the only one who can fix it.
Ives said two things need to happen — and soon — to stem the negative tide on Tesla and get the stock back on track. Shares are down nearly 50% since hitting a closing high of $462.28 in late December, though the stock is up in premarket trading on Thursday.
First, Musk must formally announce he is going to balance his role as leader of the White House Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) task force and CEO of Tesla. With the perception that he is spending “110% of his time with DOGE,” Musk needs to recommit his attention to the struggling automaker.
“Musk needs to make a statement and his actions speak louder than words. We would expect this to happen either before or during the 1Q earnings conference call in early May,” Ives wrote.
If Musk recommits himself to Tesla and balances his DOGE commitments, this will start to “take the heat off Musk” regarding DOGE, Ives said, and likely alleviate brand damage.
Second, and more important for Tesla’s business, Musk must finally give a “roadmap” for the lower-priced EVs Tesla has been promising since last year and that are slated for production in 2025. Reports suggest these cheaper vehicles may be de-contented or stripped-down Model Y EVs that would first go on sale in China.
Ives also wants to hear more about the unsupervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) Robotaxi rollout coming to Austin, Texas, in June, as autonomous is a major factor in most analysts' bull cases for the stock. Yesterday, California regulators said Tesla has received an initial permit to begin ride-hail testing with Tesla employees in piloted cars, a first step on the road to eventual Robotaxi testing, though this news did not come from Tesla’s official communications channels.
“With a Model Y refresh, inventory issues, and a host of demand issues with Musk brand damage a worry ... there is one person Tesla investors need to hear from ... Musk,” Ives said, maintaining his Outperform rating and $550 price target.
Hearing from Musk soon, most likely next month during Tesla’s earnings call, can’t come soon enough. The company is facing another crisis with the Cybertruck's recall of 46,000 of the EV pickups due to exterior panels flying off when driven.
Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on X and on Instagram .
