Tesla’s Valuation To Hit $2 Trillion? Here’s Why Dan Ives Believes 2026 Could Bring In The Magic Figure

Wedbush analyst and Tesla Inc. (TSLA) bull Daniel Ives believes the Elon Musk-led EV company could roughly double its valuation to $2 trillion by the end of 2026 with the imminent launch of its robotaxi network.

The firm maintains an ‘Outperform’ rating on the shares with a price target of $500. The price target represents a 55% upside to the stock’s closing price on Wednesday.

Ives said that the "golden era of autonomous" for Tesla officially kicks off on Sunday in Austin as the company gears up for the launch of its robotaxi services, as per TheFly.

While the Austin launch will start small, with roughly 20 Model Y vehicles, this service is expected to steadily ramp up throughout the summer in Austin. According to Wedbush, Tesla will launch and scale its robotaxi service to approximately 25 cities in the U.S. over the next year.

The firm views this autonomous chapter as one of the most important for CEO Musk and the company in its history, as it believes the AI-powered future alone is worth a $1 trillion addition to Tesla’s valuation, adding to the nearly $1 trillion market cap as of Wednesday.

Ives also acknowledged possible setbacks but opined that the company’s unmatched scale and scope globally allow it to own the autonomous market and license its technology to other auto players in the future, as reported by CNBC.

The analyst also expressed hopes that President Donald Trump would clear the regulatory hurdles that might hinder Musk’s autonomous ambitions, despite the recent public spat between the two. 

“The BFF/frenemy situation with Musk and Trump has created a soap opera on this front but ultimately Trump wants the U.S. to stay ahead of China in this AI Arms Race and autonomous is a key factor in who wins AI ... with Tesla playing a major role on robotaxis,” Ives said, as per the report. 

On Stocktwits, however, retail sentiment around TSLA is trending in the 'bearish' territory.

TSLA stock is trading over 2% higher in pre-market on Friday.

The stock is down 15% year-to-date but has increased by over 77% in the past 12 months.

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