Dan Ives: Tesla About To Enter A 'Golden Era', $2 Trillion Market Cap In Sight

Dan Ives, Managing Director of Wedbush Securities and a Tesla bull, believes that the electric vehicle giant is entering a "golden age" as Elon Musk has pledged to focus on the Tesla brand.

In an interview on Wednesday, Ives said, "I believe that path to a two trillion market cap is on the table because of autonomous and robotics." Tesla′s current market capitalization is $1.08 trillion.

The analyst also claimed that demand for the electric vehicle giant could experience a short-term decline. However, he reiterated that this might mark the beginning of Tesla's "golden era."

Ives explained that the market has not fully priced in Tesla's opportunities in autonomous driving and robotics, adding that Tesla is expected to launch robotaxis in Austin, Texas, next year and surpass Alphabet's autonomous driving subsidiary, Waymo.

This echoes Musk's remarks last month about deploying millions of robotaxis in the future.

During the first-quarter earnings call, Musk outlined a phased expansion plan: initially testing the waters with 10 to 20 Model Y robotaxis equipped with the latest Full Self-Driving (FSD) software, then scaling the fleet to millions of vehicles by the end of 2026. To support the rollout, Tesla has deployed around 300 test operators in Austin, with some already transitioning to remote monitoring roles.

Additionally, Ives specifically praised Musk, saying, "This is a different Musk than the one we've seen over the past three months. He is focused on Tesla and actively driving the next initiative."

On Tuesday (May 20), Musk appeared via video at the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha, where he pledged to continue leading Tesla for the next five years and indicated he would reduce his political involvement to ease some investors' concerns about the company's future. These remarks also helped boost Tesla's stock price.

During the event, Musk downplayed the challenges Tesla currently faces, stating that the company has "turned the corner." When asked about Tesla's declining sales in major European markets in April, he said Europe is indeed Tesla's weakest-performing market but that the company is doing well elsewhere.

At the same time, the CEO reaffirmed Tesla's June timeline for launching robotaxis in Austin and hinted at the potential ride-hailing platform for Tesla's autonomous fleet.

In response to media speculation about Tesla acquiring Uber, Musk said that Tesla "doesn't need" to buy Uber.

He noted, "We have millions of cars that will be able to operate autonomously. And I should say that it's a combination of a Tesla-owned fleet and also enabling Tesla owners to be able to add or subtract their car to the fleet."