Not just SpaceX (SPCX.US) merger! Barclays: Tesla (TSLA.US) has multiple upward drivers, target price set at $450

According to Golden Ten Data APP, the market generally believes that if Tesla (TSLA.US) and SpaceX (SPCX.US) proceed with a merger, Tesla’s stock price is likely to rise. However, Dan Levy of Barclays believes that the automaker’s own business prospects also have upward momentum, prompting the institution to upgrade Tesla’s stock rating from “Neutral” to “Overweight.”

Levy wrote: “We believe the narrative around Tesla stock should not revolve solely around a potential merger… We think the company’s recent earnings call highlighted several key signals that can also support a stronger stock price.”

Levy believes that after two years of decline, the core business is expected to return to growth this year, and 2027 should see further upside, supported by demand for Full Self-Driving and export growth from its Shanghai Gigafactory.

Additionally, Tesla pointed out that, given strong data center demand, its energy business is nearly sold out for 2027. Levy expects energy deliveries to grow by over 50%.

Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja stated in the company’s earnings call with analysts on October 21: “Our second-best deployment quarter achieved 13.7 GWh of energy storage deployment, with energy gross margin rising from 20.4% to 33.1%.”

The Robotaxi business is also gaining momentum, boosting expectations that Tesla can directly compete with Waymo in the autonomous ride-hailing sector.

Levy wrote in a client report: “We believe the improvement in Tesla’s core business, the inflection point for Robotaxi, and the potential premium from a merger with SpaceX provide the stock with an attractive risk-reward profile.”

The opportunity for further upside in Tesla’s stock price has led to a new target price of $450, a 22% increase from the previous target.

At Monday’s close, Tesla’s stock surged more than 5%, broke through the 200-day moving average, and pushed the stock to its highest level since July.