Dan Ives Hails 'Very Impressive' Robotaxi Ride In Austin, Predicts 55% Upside For Tesla Stock As 'Golden Age Begins'

Wedbush Securities Analyst Dan Ives has praised Tesla Inc. TSLA Robotaxi after the official rollout of the service in Austin, Texas.

What Happened: "We attended Tesla’s Robotaxi launch in Austin, TX and got the opportunity to take multiple rides in a Robotaxi," the analyst said in a note released on Sunday.

Ives noted that he expected to be "impressed" by the technology before the launch, but praised the technology as exceeding expectations. "This is the future," the note said.

"We took two approximately 15-minute rides around Austin and the key takeaways are that it was a comfortable, safe, and personalized experience. The ride itself was completely smooth, and it was indistinguishable that the car was driverless," the note highlighted.

Ives also reiterated the $500 price target for Tesla, which is an over 55% upside on the stock’s value, as well as maintained an "Outperform" rating on Tesla following the Robotaxi launch. The note also outlined the potential for Grok, which is Musk's AI venture, xAI's artificial intelligence model and its integration into Robotaxis in the future.

Why It Matters: The rating comes in as Tesla launched Robotaxis in Austin during a limited rollout, with 10 Tesla Model Ys. The event was invite-only, with some influencers testing the service on Sunday.

While the rollout has impressed early users, Tesla still faces questions over its FSD tech from U.S. regulators, who are reviewing the company's responses to the NHTSA's inquiries about the FSD technology's viability and capabilities in poor weather conditions.

Robotaxi rival Alphabet Inc.'s GOOGL GOOG Waymo has announced it is conducting tests in other parts of the U.S. outside of California amid expansion of services in the state.

Tesla scores well on Momentum, Quality and Growth metrics, but offers poor Value. For more such insights, sign up for Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings today!

Check out more of Benzinga's Future Of Mobility coverage by following this link.

Read Next: