Wedbush’s Dan Ives Warns About “Code Red” Situation Unfolding At Tesla

Just weeks after Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives slashed his Tesla price target by 43%, citing a brand crisis fueled by CEO Elon Musk’s involvement with DOGE, he’s back with another warning about a “code red” moment for the most American-made car brand—one day before its first-quarter earnings on Tuesday. 

“Musk needs to leave the government, take a major step back on DOGE, and get back to being CEO of Tesla full-time,” Ives penned in a note to clients on Sunday. 

He said, ”Tesla is Musk and Musk is Tesla….and anyone that thinks the brand damage Musk has inflicted is not a real thing, spend some time speaking to car buyers in the US, Europe, and Asia. You will think differently after those discussions.”

Two weeks ago, Ives, whose analyst rating on the stock remains “Buy” rated, slashed his price target to $315, down from $550. He explained, ”Tesla has essentially become a political symbol globally, adding, ”It is time for Musk to step up, read the room, and be a leader in this time of uncertainty.”

According to the analyst, Tesla faces “potentially 15%-20% permanent demand destruction for future Tesla buyers due to the brand damage Musk has created with DOGE. “ Yet we must point out that the Tesla protests were small-scale and funded by corrupt NGOs connected with rogue billionaires and the Democratic Party. 

The good news for Ives is that Musk is a special government employee with DOGE, a temporary federal employee who can only work 130 days a year. There are ways around extending SGE time, but a recent report from Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, said Musk is expected to step back from his hole once the 130 days lapse. 

Ives remained bullish on Tesla, calling the brand one of the “most disruptive technology companies on the globe over the coming years.” Yet he said Tesla needs its “most important asset”: Musk. 

On Tuesday, Tesla will announce its earnings for the first quarter. From a delivery perspective, we already have a good idea about weak sales—that’s because it releases delivery numbers for the quarter several weeks before it releases its full results. 

At the start of April, Tesla reported 330,000 vehicle deliveries in the first quarter, missing Goldman, JPM, Morgan Stanley, and UBS’ estimates of between 351,000 and 375,000. 

Tesla shares have been halved since their record high on Dec. 17.

As of the latest Wall Street consensus (data via Bloomberg), 54.1% of analysts covering Tesla maintain a “Buy” rating, 24.6% rate the stock as “Hold,” and 21.3% assign a “Sell” rating.

Ives concluded, ”We view this as a fork in the road time: if Musk leaves the White House there will be permanent brand damage, but Tesla will have its most important asset and strategic thinker back as full time CEO,” adding, “If Musk chooses to stay with the Trump White House, it could change the future of Tesla/brand damage will grow.“