Tesla Bulls Show What Unconditional Love Really Is

If Wall Street’s love affair with Tesla has a soundtrack, it would be Tammy Wynette’s “Stand by Your Man.”

Sometimes it’s hard to be a Tesla bull. There are the lies (Elon Musk sold Tesla stock after he swore he wouldn’t), the cheating (the billionaire started another love affair, this time with Twitter) and the betrayal (those cars still aren’t driving themselves). But as Tammy sings, if you love him, you’ll forgive him. Despite everything, including a 65% loss in value last year, the stock pickers just can’t quit Elon.

Wall Street expects Tesla stock to double in 2023, according to data from FactSet. That’s the second-highest upside among S&P 500 Index members, according to the prognosticators. Only DISH NetworkDISH
, with a 106% consensus outlook, is getting more love.

Squint really hard and you can see the reasons why Wall Street considers Tesla something warm to come home to when the nights are cold and lonely.

For much of the last decade, the biggest blunder was not loving the company enough. The automaker’s stock routinely outpaced even the most bullish estimates, surging by 6,300% since 2012. So it’s no wonder Wall Street analysts remain smitten even after last year’s drubbing hacked $700 billion from Tesla’s market cap.

“Our conviction remains that current demand issues reflect cyclical pressures and that strong secular growth remains for years to come,” Canaccord Genuity analyst George Gianarikas wrote in his January 2 note. “We see Tesla sustaining multiple years of extraordinary growth as electric vehicle penetration continues to move higher, new vectors of growth open, and competitors begin to falter.” Translated, that means Gianarikas loves the stock.

Sure, there’s been recriminations, some yelling, even some name-calling. But hardly anyone has been aggrieved enough to officially change their relationship status.

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said Musk used the company as a personal ATM. He still maintains a buy rating for the stock and forecasts a 40% gain.

In December, Loup’s Gene Munster castigated Musk for damaging Tesla’s brand with his Twitter outbursts and urged the billionaire “to pull it together.” No worry, though. He remains a “long-term believer” and calls the shares “undervalued.”

Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood, who has her own devoted following, has continued to scoop up Tesla shares for her fund, showing no signs of fading affection. Ark bought $19 million worth of shares last week as the company’s stock endured its worst daily drop in more than two years.

Wood has said Tesla has “miles to run” and could eventually rise to $1,500 — it’s currently in the $122 range — although that estimate isn’t included in FactSet’s data.

They’re standing by their Elon. After all, he’s just a man.