RBC Capital Markets raised its price target on Tesla (TSLA) to $500 from $475, implying about 19% upside from the stock’s trading level around $419.77. Analyst Tom Narayan pointed to a 25%-30% premium tied to a potential SpaceX acquisition scenario, based on unconfirmed media reports. The premium adds a 15% bump to Tesla’s intrinsic valuation, reflecting possible synergies across compute hardware, energy storage, AI training and large-scale infrastructure.
The target increase follows Tesla’s Q2 delivery report, where the company delivered 480,100 vehicles — a 25% year-over-year jump that easily beat estimates. Despite the beat, shares fell as much as 7% on the day, in what analysts called a “buy the rumor, sell the news” reaction. JPMorgan kept a Neutral rating with a $475 target, and analyst Rajat Gupta said a Tesla-SpaceX combination would be “strategically coherent on paper,” but flagged substantial regulatory and jurisdictional hurdles, especially given Tesla’s manufacturing and sales exposure in China and SpaceX’s defense-linked activities.
RBC’s more bullish stance contrasts with the cautious Wall Street consensus, where the average price target sits near $399.71. The broader debate now hinges on whether Tesla’s core business, energy segment, and AI ambitions can justify its high earnings multiple before any merger materializes. Tesla’s Q2 earnings are due July 22, with consensus expectations of $0.48 EPS on $25.4 billion in revenue. Investors will monitor automotive gross margins, free cash flow, and updates on robotaxi and full self-driving initiatives.
