Tesla Stock Is Back in the Green for 2024

Tesla (TSLA) shares staged a strong rally this week, rising about 27% on the strength of upbeat second-quarter deliveries numbers.

The stock finished Friday at $251.52, up from last week’s close of $197.88. They rose about 2% on Friday, retreating somewhat from a year-to-date high of $252.37 earlier in the session.

On Tuesday, the Elon Musk-led electric vehicle (EV) maker reported second-quarter deliveries of 443,956 vehicles, which topped analysts’ consensus estimate of about 439,000.

Analysts Largely Positive on Deliveries Figures

Analysts have largely reacted positively to Tesla’s deliveries data, with Bank of America and Wedbush Securities analysts raising their price targets to $260 and $300, respectively, from $220 and $275. J.P. Morgan analysts were cooler on the deliveries numbers, maintaining an “underweight” rating and price target of just $115.

“In a nutshell, the worst is in the rear-view mirror for Tesla as we believe the EV demand story is starting to return to the disruptive tech stalwart ahead,” Wedbush analysts said.

Tesla shares had dropped as low as $138.80 on April 22 after closing 2023 at $248.48. Friday marked the first day since Jan. 2 — the first trading day of 2024— that Tesla went into positive territory at all this year. As of Friday’s close, they were just barely in the green for the year, up less than a tenth of a percent.

Musk Said Tesla Will Unveil ‘Robotaxi’ in August

Looking ahead, analysts also pointed to Tesla’s planned “Robotaxi Day” on August 8, when Musk said the company will unveil an autonomous driving taxi. 

“We continue to believe that Tesla is more of an AI and robotics play than a traditional car company,” Wedbush analysts said. “…[N]ow the rubber meets the road as the Street anticipates August 8th as a key linchpin day for the Tesla story.”