Tesla (TSLA) Stock Bounces Back — Bank of America Says Buy, Here’s Why

TLDR

• BofA reinstated Tesla with a Buy rating, up from Hold, with a $460 price target.
• The firm called Tesla “the current leader in consumer autonomy.”
• BofA values Tesla’s Optimus humanoid segment at over $30 billion and its Energy business at $90 billion.
• Only 44% of analysts rate Tesla a Buy, below the S&P 500 average of 55%.
• Tesla stock was up 2% early Wednesday but remains down 13% year-to-date.

Tesla (TSLA) stock moved higher early Wednesday after BofA reinstated coverage with a Buy rating and a $460 price target, lifting the stock about 2% to $400.27.

Tesla, Inc., TSLA

The upgrade came after a rough stretch. Tesla had been down 9% since its fourth-quarter earnings beat on January 28, and was sitting 13% lower for the year heading into Wednesday’s session.

BofA analyst Alex Perry called Tesla “the current leader in consumer autonomy,” pointing to its Full Self-Driving product as the foundation for what the firm expects will eventually become a robo-taxi business.

Tesla’s FSD subscription runs $99 a month and is capable of handling most routine driving for Tesla owners. BofA sees this consumer-facing tech as the bridge to a broader autonomous vehicle network.

Tesla launched a robo-taxi service in Austin, Texas, in June and has plans to expand to nine cities in the first half of 2026.

The average analyst price target for Tesla currently sits at $427. BofA’s $460 target sits above that, suggesting the firm is more bullish than the Street consensus.

Despite the upgrade, analyst sentiment on Tesla remains mixed. Just 44% of analysts covering the stock rate it a Buy — well below the S&P 500 average Buy-rating ratio of roughly 55%.

Tesla carries a P/E ratio of 363, and InvestingPro’s Fair Value analysis flags the stock as overvalued at current levels. Five analysts have revised their earnings estimates upward for the upcoming period, however.

Optimus and Energy Valued at Billions

BofA broke down Tesla’s valuation by segment. The firm puts Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot business at over $30 billion, roughly 2% of Tesla’s $1.47 trillion market cap.

Optimus is expected to be deployed first in manufacturing settings, with potential to replace a portion of the approximately 13 million U.S. manufacturing jobs, and later expand into households.

Tesla’s Energy segment, which includes residential Powerwall batteries and Megapacks for utilities and data centers, was valued by BofA at $90 billion, or 6% of total company value.

Recent Developments Worth Watching

Not everything going Tesla’s way. GLJ Research kept its Sell rating on Tesla, citing doubts about the commercial viability of the Optimus project.

A federal judge also rejected Tesla’s attempt to overturn a $243 million verdict tied to a fatal 2019 Autopilot crash, ruling that the evidence strongly supported the jury’s original decision.

On the brighter side, Tesla reported a 55% jump in registrations in France year-over-year, pointing to some stabilization in European markets after two years of declining sales. Norway also saw growth.

Tesla was up 44% over the past 12 months heading into Wednesday’s session, even with the year-to-date pressure.

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