"The Ultimate Narrative" engine is firing on all cylinders! "OG Meme Stock" Tesla is heading straight for a historic high?

According to the Zhitong Finance APP, the stock price of electric vehicle leader Tesla (TSLA.US), which has been included by investors in the "artificial intelligence" and "humanoid robot" sectors, has skyrocketed since September, rising a staggering 40% compared to early August. Some Wall Street analysts believe that the underlying logic is not driven by fundamental factors, but rather by speculation around AI and robotics, as well as a resonance of technology and capital. Dan Levy, a senior stock analyst at Wall Street financial giant Barclays, even compared Tesla to the meme stock frenzy of late 2020 and 2021.

In an interview with the media this week, Levy attributed this round of gains to retail investors (especially long-time supporters of Tesla and Musk followers) refocusing on AI supercomputer-driven Full Self-Driving (FSD) and the Optimus humanoid robot, as well as the extreme excitement surrounding the upcoming annual shareholder meeting of the electric vehicle manufacturer. Additionally, there are capital-driven factors such as options leverage, passive buying, and market relative strength switching.

The market has shifted its focus from the currently negative vehicle sales and gross margins to the "long-term bull market curve" of FSD (Full Self-Driving) commercialization, Robotaxi, Optimus (the humanoid robot), and energy storage (Megapack), providing space for a very high premium in valuation. Therefore, in the eyes of "Musk followers" and retail investors who are long-term bullish on Tesla, this wave of gains will push Tesla's stock price to create historical highs.

However, Barclays analyst Dan Levy directly referred to Tesla as an "OG meme stock," emphasizing that its "overemphasis on AI/robot narrative + strong retail base" often disconnects the stock price from traditional fundamental expectations. At the same time, in terms of capital, the relative rotation and rebound among other strong stocks in the Magnificent 7 has led to a momentum-driven bullish options frenzy.

OG-level Meme Stock

"This stock's recent surge is not just about the frenzy brought by the meme phenomenon. The reality is... it can even be said to be an old-school OG meme stock," Levy stated in the interview.

Levy emphasized that Tesla's incredibly strong retail following and "Musk followers" have continuously driven its stock price performance since September, propelled by upward capital momentum, and this performance is often completely disconnected from traditional fundamentals, requiring only a strong bullish technical signal to drive this OG-level meme stock to soar.

The analyst also pointed out that the stock's price-to-earnings ratio of 180 based on 2026 earnings is "nonsensical," and suggested that rather than using traditional market valuation metrics, it would be better to compare Tesla's stock to high-risk speculative assets like Bitcoin (BTC-USD). Regarding the outlook for Tesla's stock price, this analyst remains bearish, although he believes that Tesla's stock price will remain strong under various narratives and capital catalysts, it is bound to undergo a significant correction soon Levy also highlighted other technical and funding factors influencing Tesla's stock price movements, including its long-standing relatively sluggish performance compared to the other "Magnificent Seven" (MAGS) driving a technical rebound, as well as the sudden surge in bullish options trading activity bringing strong momentum.

He added that Elon Musk's renewed engagement with Tesla upon returning to the business is an important factor behind the company's recent strong performance, noting that many bullish forces for Tesla are linked to "Musk followers."

"What we are seeing is that, at least for now, Musk's involvement in running Tesla is higher," Levy stated, mentioning Musk's public market buying actions and the compensation plan proposed by the board aimed at ensuring the CEO focuses on driving Tesla's performance growth trajectory.

Levy emphasized that Tesla remains an "ultimate narrative stock," especially when compared to the strong growth prospects of the future, with current car sales being merely a "fading story."

"Based on the strong future growth model of AI and robotics, this is the core support point for the bulls, which excites them," he explained. He added, "Due to the power of the retail bullish narrative and the excitement surrounding Elon Musk, OG meme Tesla has gained this recognition today, while other meme companies may not receive the same level of retail recognition."

"Tesla Super Bull" predicts that Tesla's stock price surge is far from over

Dan Ives, a senior analyst at Wedbush known as the "Tesla Super Bull," recently raised Tesla's target price significantly to $600 while maintaining an "outperform" rating. Ives' core logic is also based on future prospects rather than electric vehicle delivery volumes, primarily focusing on Tesla's accelerated development in artificial intelligence and the imminent key breakthroughs. As of Monday's market close, Tesla's stock price was $443, having reached an all-time high of $488.54 in December 2024.

Ives pointed out that the market severely underestimates Tesla's transformation potential—specifically, that the FSD autonomous driving and robotics technology based on AI supercomputing systems will become a core strategic pillar by 2026, and Tesla's "game-changing factors" in AI and robotics will directly determine the company's future direction.

Ives' team estimates that the FSD autonomous driving sector alone, based on AI, will contribute at least $1 trillion in market value to Tesla. During the remaining year of the Trump administration, Tesla's core projects around FSD are expected to accelerate, as the federal regulatory "spider web" that has entangled the company for the past few years is anticipated to be dismantled more quickly. Ives' team believes that in a bullish scenario, Tesla's market value could reach $2 trillion by early 2026, and with the large-scale production of autonomous driving and robotics by the end of the year, it could further rise to $3 trillion.

As Tesla's "Great Vision 4.0" is released, Musk reiterated the strategic position of the robotics business within Tesla. He stated that the scaling of FSD and Optimus will be the most important matters, as approximately 80% of Tesla's future value will come from the Optimus humanoid robot