Having initially traded down following last month’s earnings report, shares of Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) are once again pointing north. The stock is currently trading around $390, putting it within touching distance of $400. This means that Tesla has not only recovered the ground it lost following April’s report but has actually pushed past its pre-earnings price, a clear sign that sentiment has swung to the bulls' side.
That kind of price action matters, especially given the multi-month downtrend that had been gathering pace. As we head into the start of summer, it’s looking more and more like Tesla has flipped the narrative back in its favor, and the path toward $400 looks increasingly clear. Let’s take a look at the bull case and the top three reasons in particular that Tesla should be back trading above that level in the coming weeks.
Reason #1: The Earnings Reset Has Reopened the Bull Case
As MarketBeat noted at the time, Tesla’s latest earnings report didn’t need to be perfect. It just needed to be good enough to stabilize the story and remind investors of the company’s underlying strength—which is exactly what it did.
Margins improved, profitability held up better than many had feared, and the company’s Services revenue grew strongly. Taken together, these factors helped shift the focus away from short-term concerns around demand and pricing pressure and back toward Tesla’s ability to generate sustainable earnings.
More importantly, the report addressed one of the key bearish arguments that had been building in recent months. That is, Tesla’s core business was losing momentum in a way that could not be easily offset by exciting, but as yet unrealized, future ambitions.
Instead, what the results showed was a business that is adjusting, not collapsing. This distinction is crucial. When a stock is under pressure, the first step toward a recovery is removing the worst-case scenario from the table. Tesla has done that, and in doing so has diminished, if not completely removed, one of the stronger headwinds that was pushing the stock down in recent weeks.
Reason #2: The Growth Story Is Now Bigger Than Cars
If the earnings report stabilized the downside, then Tesla’s evolving growth narrative has been driving the upside. Thanks in large part to clear messaging on this in last month’s report, the company is increasingly being viewed through the lens of artificial intelligence, autonomy, and robotics rather than just as an electric vehicle manufacturer. This is a shift Tesla has been trying to achieve for months now, and it looks like it’s finally starting to stick.
Developments around full self-driving, the ongoing buildout of its robotaxi ambitions, and progress in areas like Optimus are all contributing to a broader story that extends well beyond car sales. Tesla continues to invest heavily in these areas, and the path to clear returns is becoming clearer. That’s helping to reposition the shift in investors’ minds from a theoretical pivot to an actual strategic plan.
In terms of what this means for the stock, the key point is that the company’s growth potential is expanding rapidly. While Tesla’s automotive business remains important, it’s no longer the sole driver of the valuation, and arguably isn’t even the primary driver of valuation anymore.
Investors are instead starting to price in the potential for entirely new revenue streams, which is creating room for the stock to move higher—hence why $400 could soon become the new floor.
Reason #3: Momentum and Sentiment Are Now Aligned
Perhaps the most important factor in the near term is the alignment between price action, sentiment, and positioning. Tesla’s recovery from last week’s post-earnings dip has been decisive, especially when you consider the stock had been selling off continuously since December.
The setup is, for now at least, looking less like a short-term bounce and more like the start of a fresh uptrend. At the same time, analyst sentiment is moving in the same direction. Recent updates over the past two weeks have seen HSBC upgrade the stock to a Buy rating, while Tigress Financial, Deutsche Bank, and President Capital all reiterated bullish positions. The updated price targets are also supporting the case for further upside from here, with President Capital’s fresh $428 target in particular suggesting that a move beyond $400 is imminent.
Add in a broader risk-on backdrop that’s driving equities to all-time highs, with investors increasingly happy to lean back into growth names like Tesla, and the setup becomes even stronger. The stock has quickly moved from the defensive to the offensive, and while it still needs to deliver, $400 now looks like the next step rather than an ambitious target.
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The article "TSLA: 3 Reasons the Stock Could Hit $400 in May" first appeared on MarketBeat.
