Electric vehicle maker and robotaxi company Tesla (TSLA 2.61%) has had quite an eventful year. Following President Donald Trump's election last year, the stock came into 2025 riding high, as investors believed that CEO Elon Musk's ties to the president would make life easier for Tesla, especially on the regulatory front.
However, Tesla struggled earlier this year due to a variety of factors, including weak electric vehicle sales, and as investors anticipated the expiration of the $7,500 EV tax credit, which is expected to hurt EV demand. Musk also proved controversial, due to his involvement with the initiative called the Department of Government Efficiency and public arguments with Trump.
Image source: Tesla.
However, the stock has rebounded thanks to investor enthusiasm surrounding Tesla's full self-driving technology, the launch of the company's robotaxi fleet, and excitement about other artificial intelligence initiatives, such as Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots. The stock is up close to 28% on the year as I write this. Is Tesla still a millionaire maker?
Continues to be a battleground stock
Tesla remains a battleground stock on Wall Street. Some believe the stock, trading at 296 times forward earnings estimates, is wildly overvalued. Others, like Ark Invest's Cathie Wood, believe investors can still get in on the ground floor of what could ultimately prove to be one of the most innovative AI companies in the world.
NASDAQ: TSLA
Key Data Points
Wood has a 2029 price target of $2,600 per share for Tesla. That implies 436% upside from the Dec. 25 price. To make $1 million in this scenario, one would need to invest $230,000 now, a huge chunk of money for someone not already a millionaire. But even if it takes 20 years for Wood's prediction to be correct, that would still be a good investment.
I'm personally in the bear camp and think that Tesla is overvalued, but the jury is still out on the stock. Regardless, it would take a big bet to become a millionaire.
