Wall Street analysts raised the target price for Tesla, Inc. (TSLA.US) and the stock price rebounded strongly.

Tesla, Inc. recently announced record delivery numbers, but fell short of Wall Street expectations, reflecting the increasing difficulty in electric car sales. The stock price has dropped by over 20% since its peak in December last year, briefly entering a bear market. However, with the push from Wall Street analysts raising their target price, Tesla, Inc. stock price rebounded strongly on Friday. On Thursday, Tesla, Inc. reported delivering 495,570 electric vehicles in the fourth quarter, setting a new record for the quarter. However, this number was still about 10,000 vehicles lower than Wall Street expectations. As a result, the stock price dropped by 6.1% that day, closing at $379.28, a 21% decrease from the record high of $479.86 in December. Investor disappointment stemmed from various factors. Firstly, Tesla, Inc. had aimed to surpass the annual delivery volume of 2023 by 2024, meaning they should have delivered around 515,000 cars in the fourth quarter, but fell short by about 20,000 vehicles. Additionally, despite implementing various sales incentives (such as offering 0% financing for some models in the US and lease buyback options), sales growth was not significantly boosted. On the other hand, consumer demand did not rise as expected as consumers rushed to purchase before potentially losing federal electric vehicle tax credits prior to Biden administration. Analysts believe that President-elect Trump may cancel the highest-value car subsidies of up to $7,500 during the Biden government era. Furthermore, while the Chinese market showed strong performance, the sales in other markets such as Germany were weak, partially offsetting the growth. Nevertheless, Tesla, Inc.'s performance was still impressive for the whole year, as since the US election on November 5th, its market value has increased by about $410 billion and the stock price has risen by approximately 51%. Currently, the market is more focused on Tesla, Inc.'s growth potential in 2025. The company plans to introduce a new model with a starting price of around $30,000 in early 2025 to further expand its market share. In addition, Tesla, Inc. is utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) technology to train its self-driving software and plans to launch autonomous taxi services by the end of 2025. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives stated, "Tesla, Inc.'s $1 trillion AI valuation has begun to unleash, and we believe that in the next 12 to 18 months, the company will move towards a $2 trillion valuation." He gave Tesla, Inc. a "buy" rating and set a target price of $515. In contrast, TD Cowen analyst Jeff Osborne has a "neutral" rating with a target price of $180. The difference in their target prices reflects the discrepancy in Wall Street's valuation and future performance outlook for Tesla, Inc. Despite the lower-than-expected delivery numbers, Tesla, Inc. stock price rose by 8.2% on Friday, closing at $410.44, completely recovering from the previous day's decline. The S&P 500 index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 1.3% and 0.8% respectively. Canaccord analyst George Gianarkias raised Tesla, Inc.'s target price to $404 on Friday, maintaining a "buy" rating. He pointed out that despite the shortfall in delivery volume, Tesla, Inc.'s upcoming new products and growth potential in the electric vehicle, self-driving/AI, energy storage, and Siasun Robot & Automation sectors keep him optimistic. Since the election, FactSet data shows that analysts' average target price for Tesla, Inc. has increased from $235 to $300, indicating a continuously growing confidence in the company's long-term development.