Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares are sliding 6% this morning after the electric-vehicle maker reported lower-than-expected fourth-quarter deliveries. But defending the name on weakness today is Dan Ives, a well-known analyst at investment bank Wedbush Securities.
Tesla’s Q4 Deliveries Shortfall
Elon Musk’s automaker handed over 495,570 EVs last quarter, coming in well under analysts’ average estimate of 506,673. In Q4 of 2023, the company delivered 484,507 EVs.
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Last quarter, Tesla manufactured 459,445 EVs. For all of 2024, Tesla’s deliveries dropped 1% to 1.79 million.
TSLA stock is still up about 50% since the day before the 2024 presidential election. Given the close relationship between Musk and President-elect Donald Trump, investors have been bullish that Tesla will benefit from favorable moves by Washington during the Trump administration.
Ives Defends TSLA
Calling Tesla’s Q4 deliveries “respectable” in a post on X this morning, Ives wrote that he was concentrating ” on the (firm’s) 2025 growth story and autonomous vision.” He recommended buying Tesla’s shares on weakness today.
The analyst’s bullishness on Tesla comes a little over two weeks after he increased his price target on the shares to $515 and indicated that they could reach $650 in a strongly positive scenario. According to Ives, the Trump administration will be “a total game changer” for Tesla’s AI and autonomous initiates. Moreover, he contended that the company’s efforts in these areas are ” worth at least $1 trillion.”
While we acknowledge the potential of TSLA, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than TSLA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.