Dan Ives: Wall Street's Leading Tesla Bull
Predicts 25% Surge in Tech Stocks
"AI Revolution Will Last for 10 Years"
Dismisses DeepSeek Emergence and Trump Tariff Concerns
Dan Ives, a leading Wall Street technology stock analyst at Wedbush Securities, described Tesla, the stock most beloved by 'Seohak Gaemi' (individual investors investing in overseas stocks) in Korea, as "the most undervalued artificial intelligence (AI) stock and AI company." Despite recent double-digit declines in Tesla's stock price and ongoing pessimism surrounding its high valuation, his continued praise for Tesla can be summarized by three factors: ▲ the AI revolution expected to continue for the next decade ▲ growth prospects in autonomous driving and robotics ▲ the Trump administration.
Dan Ives, an analyst from Wedbush Securities who visited Korea, is greeting domestic investors after finishing a lecture at Hana Securities in Yeouido on the evening of the 18th. Well known in Korea as a leading optimist on Wall Street, he attracted attention by appearing at the lecture venue wearing his trademark flashy attire.
On the evening of the 18th, just before delivering a '2025 Stock Market Outlook' lecture to investors at Hana Securities in Yeouido, Ives met with reporters and reaffirmed his forecast of a 25% additional rise in tech stocks, stating, "Even Wall Street is underestimating the bull market that will continue for the next few years." Known as a leading optimist on Wall Street and a long-time Tesla bull, he is well recognized among Seohak Gaemi. His target price for Tesla is $550 (buy), significantly exceeding the closing price of $354.11 on that day.
The first point Ives highlighted was that AI investments led by the Magnificent 7 (M7), including Nvidia and Tesla, are expanding to other tech companies. He stated, "The AI revolution will last for 10 years," and added, "I believe the monetization of the AI boom has already begun." This suggests that the AI-driven bull market could continue for another 2 to 3 years. He likened the current stage to "10 PM at the AI party," predicting that "the party will continue until 4 AM." Notably, he dismissed the shock caused by the emergence of China's DeepSeek as "a buying opportunity for investors." He also drew a clear line, saying that Trump's tariffs will not affect the performance of the semiconductor or AI-related markets.
The second factor is the growth outlook for Tesla's autonomous driving and robotics businesses. Ives said, "Tesla is in the early stages of the next generation of additional growth," and predicted that "autonomous driving and robotics will lead 90% of this growth." He described Elon Musk's decision to bet on President Trump ahead of last year's election as "historic," expecting that "under the Trump administration, autonomous driving technology will accelerate rapidly, and Tesla will grow quickly." In his subsequent lecture, he argued that under the Trump administration, the development of autonomous driving and robotics technologies will accelerate rapidly, with 'Physical AI' being strongly deployed, making Tesla "the key winner of the AI era." He sees Tesla at the forefront of Physical AI, which is considered the next stage in the AI battlefield.
Lastly, Tesla's positive factor is the Trump administration. Ives evaluated that "despite some noise, the Trump administration itself is very bullish on the U.S. stock market." Regarding market concerns over Musk's political moves as he took charge of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), he acknowledged that "it is true that this has negatively impacted Tesla's stock price," but emphasized that "the value of Musk occupying the forefront of the Trump administration outweighs any negative events that could occur in the short term."
During his lecture, Ives also rebutted criticisms about the high valuations surrounding tech stocks. Having worked on Wall Street for over 20 years and experienced the dot-com bubble and financial crisis, he began by saying, "If you only looked at valuations, year-over-year changes, or price-to-earnings ratios (PER), you would not have invested in tech stocks over the past 20 years," emphasizing that "trends are more important than valuations."
Additionally, he pointed out SK Hynix and Hyundai Motor Company as stocks to watch in the domestic market. He noted, "SK Hynix will be a key parameter for AI investments," highlighting that "SK Hynix's presence in the global market is growing." He also said, "Hyundai Motor is evolving from a traditional automaker into an innovative company combining autonomous driving and robotics technologies," evaluating that "these two companies are at the forefront among Korean firms." He added, "Korean companies could uniquely benefit as technology beneficiaries amid the tensions between the U.S. and China."
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