Dan Ives Recommends Tesla Board To Take Steps To Keep Musk At The EV Company, But Cathie Wood’s Confidence Is Unshaken

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives on Tuesday urged Tesla Inc.’s (TSLA) board to take steps to ensure CEO Elon Musk’s dedication to the EV company after he announced his political party over the weekend to take on the Republicans and Democrats alike.

Tesla shares were trading about 3% in the green at the time of writing.

Wedbush believes this is "a tipping point in the Tesla story," and ultimately, the Tesla Board needs to act and set the ground rules for Musk going forward around his political ambitions and actions, according to The Fly.

Tesla is entering one of the most critical stages of its growth cycle, with the autonomous and robotics future now on the doorstep, Ives said in a recent Wedbush note.

He added that Tesla cannot afford for Musk to spend more and more time creating a political party that will require countless time, energy, and political capital.

Ives recommended three steps, including a new pay package for Musk, which would give him 25% voting control, establishing guardrails for the amount of time Musk spends at Tesla as part of the pay package, and oversight on his political endeavors.

The firm has an ‘Outperform’ rating on the shares with a price target of $500.

Ark Investment Management LLC founder Cathie Wood, yet another Tesla bull, however, said in an interview on Bloomberg Television that the money management company has been dealing with controversy around Musk in one form or another since it first bought the stock.

“We do trust the board and the board’s instincts here and we stay out of politics,” she said, while also pointing towards Musk’s recent announcement that he is going to oversee sales in the US and in Europe.

“When he puts his mind on something, he usually gets the job done. So I think he’s much less distracted now than he was, let’s say, in the White House 24/7,” Wood said.

On Stocktwits, TSLA stock is currently trending in the ‘bearish’ territory, coupled with ‘high’ message volume.

The stock is down by about 25% this year but up about 19% over the past 12 months.

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