Tesla bags target hike as Trump era to bring in 'age of autonomous'

Analysts at Wedbush have upgraded their share price target for Tesla Inc as they believe that with Donald Trump back as president, the ‘age of autonomous’ vehicles has begun.

Analysts said in a note that Trump’s tenure would be a “total game changer” for Elon Musk’s firm’s efforts at autonomous driving and artificial intelligence.

Such opportunities, analysts further noted, could be worth at least US$1 trillion to Tesla alone, given that Trump would expedite initiatives and remove regulatory barriers. In essence, Musk made a big, strategic bet on a Trump White House win — a bet that will be known for generations to coming as a positive for Tesla bulls, according to the analysis. Now, Tesla and Musk are poised to reap the benefits from a friendlier regulatory era, analysts say. Wedbush is forecasting the company to reach US$2 trillion in market capitalization over the next 18 months, driven by the rollout of full self-driving capabilities across its existing fleet and the acceleration of cybercab production. The new target of US$550 a share, from US$515, and an ‘outperform’ rating were also maintained by the firm. “We believe Tesla remains the most undervalued AI play in the market today,” Wedbush noted. The shares were trading at US$418.96 as the market opened on Wednesday.