Elon Musk's big bet on Trump is a home run for Tesla, says Wedbush's Dan Ives

Shares of Tesla, one of the best performers of the morning, soaring today following the president-elect's victory last night. Joining us to talk about what it means for Tesla, for big tech, for Elon Musk, let's bring in Dan Ives, Webber Securities Analyst, a course of buy rating on Tesla and a recent target at least of 300. Dan, good morning. Does that change, that number? Look, I mean, I think this, it's a strategic bet that Musk made that ultimately could pay dividends for Tesla in a huge way for the coming years. I think $40 to $50 per share, it adds just for beginners, not just because of what could happen from a tax credit perspective, I think leveling playing field, you take out the Detroit automakers and then that's really going to give them an advantage from a cost scale and scope perspective. Biden, the big thing here, Trump could ultimately fast track autonomous, FSD. And our whole view, as we've talked about in the show, trillion dollars evaluation just on AI alone. This is going to unlock it. That's a key. Makes a lot of sense. Is there no scenario in which relations with China take a big hit and Musk is asked to pick a side? Is it a sense? Yeah. And I think that, so on the other side, especially, it's not just for Tesla, also Apple as well. For Musk, I think there's a comfort in him being in this situation that he could almost be a pseudo sort of, you know, ambassador. Shadow diplomacy? Call it 10 percent politician, 90 percent CEO in terms of making sure that the retaliatory or the carve out, I think that's going to be important. The carve out piece from a tariff perspective. I think one of the reasons that you see Nvidia up today, you see Semi, you look at Apple, despite some fears about what we're going to see on tariffs, there's a view maybe with Musk there, Barr could be a little worse in the bite when it comes to tariffs, specifically on AI. And I think that's really right now what's what's key, not just to AI, but to the broader tech. You said you started off by saying you think this could materially help Tesla having him in the White House. How? What sort of regulations are we watching? So I think there's three things. One is that the EV tax credits get taken away. And I think that even though negative for EV sector, bullish for Tesla because of their scale and scope. So bad for Detroit, though, potentially. Bad for Detroit. Bad for, of course, bad for GM, bad for Ford. Which you cover as well. And my view going into this was like that was a potential risk. But I think Mary and the team have kind of pulled back a little. So it's not like they've bet it all on EVs. So I think one is going to be that where they get an advantage. Two, and I think probably most important, is this autonomous FSD. Because when you think about cyber cab and everything, we've talked about 26, could that be 25? Now if Trump clears the path there, this changes the whole paradigm, I think, for Tesla. Are those regulatory authorities that oversee full self-driving federal in nature so that that's where it is? It's not states that are involved? Or how does that work? The Department of Transportation? It's a great question. I mean, there are some states. But a lot of it's federal. And then the third part is a big overhang here. I think just broader has been regulatory. I think another overhang has even been like FTC with Khan, you know, in terms of not just for Tesla, but I think broader in big tech. I think the view of many investors I've talked to is Khan's likely out, you know, in this scenario with Trump taking over, which is bullish for M&A, bullish for big tech. Less regulation. Right. But when it's specific, when it comes to Tesla, it's all about Musk now having a say where he didn't have one in either Biden or... No, he's got a significant say. Let's talk very briefly here, broader tech, generative AI, which we talk to you about a lot when we bring you on about NVIDIA. What do you think his impact will be there in terms of advising the administration, I guess, and what the policy may be? He'll be what I'll call like an AI ambassador. I mean, that's essentially what the role he could play from a tech perspective. There's comfort. I think it's part why NVIDIA's up, why SEMI's, Apple's not down, despite some words about retaliatory. Musk being there, as Twilight Zone as it sounds, actually gives some comfort that specific on the AI piece that he could actually make sure that this does not have unintended consequences for the big tech trade, for Microsoft, for the hyperscalers. And I think that's something that's clearly at play here, especially with Musk having much bigger say in the White House. Finally, when you think about state governments, right, that make democratic states that might be recoiling at what happened at the federal level, does that not make them more antagonistic on FSD at least? Oh, no. I mean, like this is going to be, you have battles that will continue to play on for the coming years. But the big one is on the federal side. So especially what's going on in China, if Trump really tries to fast track autonomous FSD, then everything we talked about at RoboTax today, instead of three, four years, that's one, two years ahead. And I think most of the investors I'm talking to, that's their big focus. Can this fast track autonomous? I think the question is probably yes. And that's why we start to look at a trillion, trillion and a half mark cap as this all plays out. It's a big part of the value. Now, $19 away from your target. Keep us updated. That will. Good to see you. Great. Dan Ives.