The robotaxi dream just got more real, and Wall Street noticed. Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares jumped 7% today after Nevada’s Department of Motor Vehicles cleared the company to begin testing autonomous vehicles on public roads. Having already launched driverless rides in Austin, Tesla now has the green light to expand its ambitions into a new state. For investors, it’s the kind of progress they’ve been waiting for –proof that the robotaxi vision is moving from promise to pavement.
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But while Nevada’s approval lit the spark today, the bigger storyline this week is Tesla’s board asking shareholders to sign off on a new incentive package for Elon Musk. In its latest shareholder proposal, Tesla laid out a plan that could grant Musk 423 million additional shares, boosting his stake to roughly 25% and potentially worth as much as $1 trillion. To unlock the award, Musk would have to steer Tesla through lofty milestones, from reaching market caps as high as $8.5 trillion to delivering one million robotaxis and one million Optimus robots. The idea is to secure Musk’s focus through 2030 and ensure he leads Tesla’s most ambitious bets on autonomy and AI.
As Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives put it, “this new performance award challenges Musk to reach an even higher bar across multiple aspects of the business including new Adjusted EBITDA milestones, and the rollout of new products and offerings, including 1 million robotaxis in commercial operations and 1 million Optimus robot deliveries.”
Ives also emphasized that the timing of this package is no coincidence. With the AI revolution accelerating, the analyst believes Tesla is uniquely positioned to blend its automotive scale with next-generation technologies.
“Calls for shareholders to vote on a strategic investment in xAI to advance Tesla’s AI capabilities and improve product innovation and create one of the most powerful AI companies globally over the next 12 to 18 months,” Ives added.
For Ives, that tie-in shows that Tesla isn’t just chasing cars – it’s aiming to be a central player in the broader AI and robotics economy, and keeping Musk locked in is essential to that ambition.
To this end, Ives rates Tesla shares an Outperform (i.e., Buy), along with a Street-high price target of $500. Investors could be sitting on gains of 26% if Ives’ forecast plays out as anticipated. (To watch Daniel Ives’ track record, click here)
Ives represents the bullish view – Wall Street is somewhat divided on TSLA stock. Among 33 recent analyst reviews, 13 are Buys, 13 are Holds, and 7 are Sells, giving the stock a consensus rating of Hold (i.e., Neutral). The bad news for investors is that the $311.11 average price target points to ~21% downside from current levels. (See TSLA stock analysis)
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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analyst. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.