Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities Analyst is ringing another big alarm bell from Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk warns that the electric car maker is facing his fork on the road as he prepares to report first quarter revenues on Tuesday.
“Musk must leave the government, take a big step towards Doge and return to Tesla’s full-time CEO,” Ives wrote in a report to clients on Sunday. “Tesla is musk, musk is Tesla… And anyone who thinks the damage to the brand that masks have caused is not real… spends time talking to car buyers in the US, Europe and Asia… you think differently after those discussions.”
Two weeks ago, Ives cut its stock price target by 43%, citing the brand crisis created by Musk and the US President Donald Trump’s trade policy. Ives’ biggest concern was the possibility that Tesla could be caught up in a backlash against Trump’s tariff policy in China, which generated more than a fifth of its revenue last year. Musk has also become the face of Trump’s efforts to significantly reduce the size and scope of the federal government, angering progressive consumers, a key customer base for America’s leading electric car manufacturers.
read more:Teslable cuts stock price targets by 43%, citing Musk and Trump
“Unfortunately, Tesla has become a global political symbol of the Trump administration/doge,” Ives wrote on Sunday. He then scored several points. Tesla’s stock has been crushed since its inauguration, with the company’s first quarter delivery count being terrible, and protests against Tesla continue. Tesla faces “potentially 15% to 20% permanent demand disruption for future Tesla buyers due to the damage to the brands that Musk has created with Doge,” Ives said.
Tesla shares have fallen 43% since January 17th. As the company reports revenues on Tuesday, it faces questions about volume sales for 2025, autonomous driving progress and the Robotaxi network’s plans, and how tariffs will affect profitability. Getting closer to everything is the role of masks in the White House.
Ives said he remains bullish at Tesla, maintaining his outperform rating and calling him “the most disruptive tech company in the world in the coming years.” However, he said Tesla needs “the most important asset,” Musk, back to the company, full-time.
“We see this as a fork of road time. If Musk leaves the White House, there will be permanent brand damage, but Tesla will bring home the most important assets and strategic thinkers as a full-time CEO,” Ives writes. “If Musk chooses to stay in the Trump White House, it could change the future of Tesla/brand damage.”
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com.
