Tesla Bull Lists 2 Key Fixes Elon Musk Must Make To End The Crisis, But Retail Remains In Panic Mode

Tesla, Inc. shares got a brief lift on Wednesday after the EV giant secured the first of several regulatory approvals for its robotaxi service in California. However, retail traders remain on edge as a wave of negative news continues to weigh on the stock.

The company's most bullish analyst on Wall Street has some advice for CEO Elon Musk, now juggling additional roles as President Donald Trump's White House Senior Advisor and leading efforts to cut wasteful federal spending as part of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

"Let's call it like it is: Tesla is going through a crisis, and there is one person who can fix it....Musk," Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said in a note to clients on Wednesday. 

Ives said that Musk spending "110% of his time with DOGE" since Trump returned to the White House has caused a "political lightning rod" issue for Tesla and fueled global backlash and acts of vandalism.

"Trump buying a Tesla with an event at the White House last week is great political theater....but it does not resolve the current brand/demand problem for Musk and Tesla," he said. 

The analyst wants Musk to formally announce that he is balancing his DOGE responsibilities with his role as Tesla CEO, preferably before or during the first-quarter earnings call in May.

He also wants Musk to provide a clear timeline for the launch of lower-cost vehicles in 2025 and the rollout of unsupervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) in Austin this June.

Ives maintained an 'Outperform' rating and a $550 price target on Tesla, which implies a 133% upside from Wednesday’s closing price.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for Tesla improved slightly on Wednesday but remained in the 'bearish' zone amid a 21% drop in message volume.

TSLA sentiment and message volume as of March 19. | source: Stocktwits

"Richest man in the world goes on TV to talk about cutting Social Security, and now can't believe that people hate him," said one skeptic.

"Politics aside, there's no reason to be bullish on this long term. ANY business that puts politics over profits in a divided America will struggle to stay afloat," wrote another.

After a Financial Times report pointed to a missing $1.4 billion in Tesla's assets, several watchers also raised alarm bells. 

Tesla's year-to-date losses have widened to nearly 40%, among the worst S&P 500 performers, and short interest has climbed to 2.5% — although that reportedly remains well below the historical average.

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.<