Piper Sandler analyst Alexander Potter reiterated his Buy rating on Tesla (TSLA) stock after touring its Nevada Gigafactory last week. He also maintained his price target of $400, which implies 19.8% upside potential from current levels. The Tesla Semi is set to be assembled at the Gigafactory, where construction is underway. Potter remarked, “We’ve never expected much from this product, but we’d love to be proven wrong.”
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Potter is a five-star analyst on TipRanks, ranking #484 out of 10,004 analysts tracked. He has a 49% success rate and an average return per rating of 19.40%. Notably, his best rating to date was a Buy call on TSLA stock between January 10, 2020, and January 10, 2021, which generated a massive 800% return.
Tesla’s Robotaxi, Semi, and Optimus Plans Take Center Stage
Potter came away highly optimistic from the Nevada Gigafactory tour, focusing particularly on autonomous driving, robotics, and manufacturing expansion. He believes Tesla is preparing for a major production ramp at the facility, including plans to produce its first lithium-sulfur batteries for use in micromobility, space, drones, and defense applications.
On autonomous driving, Potter pointed to the rapid growth of Tesla’s robotaxi efforts. He noted that Tesla now covers more than 170 square miles in Austin, while rival Alphabet’s (GOOGL) Waymo serves only up to 90 square miles. Tesla also expects to launch Full Self-Driving (FSD) v14 in the next month, which Potter believes “should enable Tesla owners to use software that is on par with robotaxis in Austin.” He also acknowledged regulatory concerns around the robotaxi rollout but maintained that skepticism should ease over time if Tesla’s data proves compelling.
Meanwhile, Potter highlighted that Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot could start working in its factories soon. By September of next year, he expects Optimus to be moving and staging parts within Tesla’s facilities, potentially running 18-hour shifts and justifying its estimated $100,000 cost.
On the automotive side, Potter observed that recent changes to U.S. federal tax incentives have pulled demand forward into the third quarter. However, in the second half of this year, higher tariffs are expected to add “a couple thousand dollars” to Tesla’s per-unit costs. Despite these pressures, Potter emphasized that Tesla remains focused on defending free cash flow and sustaining its self-funding model.
Is TSLA Stock a Buy, Hold, or Sell?
On TipRanks, TSLA stock has a Hold consensus rating based on 13 Buys, 14 Holds, and eight Sell ratings. The average Tesla price target of $306.42 implies 8.2% downside potential from current levels. Year-to-date, TSLA stock has lost 17.3%.
