Throughout its years as a publicly traded company, Tesla (TSLA) has experienced fairly consistent volatility due to both internal and external forces.
Between the unpredictable nature of both CEO Elon Musk and the electric vehicle (EV) market, TSLA has been prone to surging for months, only to fall again and quickly erase most of its recent gains. But through it all, one analyst has cheered the company on and flagged it as a great buy, even in difficult trading conditions.
Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities is known for his bullish takes on Tesla and his seemingly uncompromising faith in the company. While shares have spent most of 2025 trending downward, the analyst stood his ground and insisted TSLA would rebound.
Recently, though, he expressed some concern regarding the company’s future. In a recent report, he clearly stated what he thinks Musk should do.
A Wall Street analyst who has touted Tesla stock’s growth potential for years is raising concerns about Elon Musk’s leadership.
Dan Ives is laying it all on the line for Musk and Tesla
Earlier this month, Ives turned many heads when he published a note that called Musk’s leadership into question. He isn’t the only analyst who has expressed consistent bullish takes on Tesla, but his reputation is that of one of the company’s biggest fans on Wall Street.
At that point, TSLA stock had been trending downward for weeks, sparking concern among many experts. But still, when one of the financial sector’s biggest Tesla bulls raised these red flags, investors couldn’t ignore the serious implications.
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On March 19, Ives’ team at Wedbush published a new note on Tesla, highlighting the challenges facing the company they had previously cited. In this one, however, they laid out a clear plan of action for what Musk needs to do to give the company its best chance of success.
The Wedbush analysts, led by Ives, make it clear that Tesla’s leadership team needs to prioritize changing the narrative surrounding the company. Not mincing words, the authors state that Tesla is facing a crisis regarding its public perception, and Musk is the only one who can fix it. They note that President Donald Trump buying a Tesla EV isn’t a long-term solution for the stock’s problems.
“This is a moment of truth for Musk,” Ives states. “And there are 2 things Elon needs to do to end this crisis and make sure it does not snowball into a much more black swan event for the Tesla brand over the coming years. As someone who is a core bull and believer in the Telsa long term growth story…..I loudly urge Musk and the Board to step up, stop being silent, and help resolve this crisis forming at Tesla.”
Ives thinks Musk needs to do two straightforward things. He believes the CEO must announce that he will balance his responsibilities between Tesla and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
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Additionally, Ives states that Musk should provide updates on the lower-cost Tesla EV expected to be released in 2025 and the unsupervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) rollout, scheduled to take place in June 2025 in Austin, Texas.
“With a Model Y refresh, inventory issues, and a host of demand issues with Musk brand damage a worry…there is one person Tesla investors need to hear from…Musk,” he summarizes.
The road ahead looks bumpy for Tesla stock
It’s true that despite this more measured take and clear concern, Ives is still optimistic about Tesla’s future. He maintains a bullish 12-month price target of $550 and an Outperform rating, but it’s hard to ignore that he believes major changes are necessary.
The rest of Wall Street isn’t so bullish on TSLA stock. Out of 36 surveyed analysts, only 14 maintain Buy ratings, 11 rate it as a Hold, and 11 call it a Sell. According to data from TipRanks, the average price target is $337.82, still bullish but significantly lower than Ives’ mark.
Related: Tesla orders massive Cybertruck recall due to dangerous discovery
As TheStreet recently reported, data from Hazletree shows that interest from short sellers in TSLA stock is rising. In addition, company insiders, including Musk’s brother, have been offloading shares recently. Both factors indicate a lack of confidence in the company and Musk.
While he’s posted about Tesla on X quite a bit lately, Musk doesn’t seem to be focused on making the changes Ives is calling for.
Given his unpredictable nature, it is unclear how Musk will handle the problems facing his company. Ives is far from the only expert to argue that Tesla is facing a crisis that requires action. However, even as market volatility pushes shares down, the person in the best position to save it seems to have other priorities.
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