Elon Musk's DOGE Dedication Sparks Tesla 'Brand Deterioration' As EV Maker Drops 20% After Trump Inauguration — Dan Ives Says 'Bark Way Worse Than The Bite'

Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives remains bullish on Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA), maintaining his $550 price target despite growing concerns over CEO Elon Musk‘s involvement with the Department of Government Efficiency.

What Happened: “The worry of the Street around Tesla is Musk dedicating so much time to DOGE takes away from TSLA and causes brand deterioration,” Ives wrote on X on Wednesday. “We believe bark way worse than the bite in terms of brand issues and balancing time…our focus remains autonomous future.”

The commentary comes as FOX Business Senior Correspondent Charles Gasparino reported that Musk plans to dedicate the next four months to DOGE initiatives, including ambitious plans to cut $2 trillion from the budget. According to Gasparino, Musk has been sleeping in his White House office due to the intensive workload.

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Why It Matters: However, not all market observers share Ives’ optimistic outlook. Matt Maley, Chief Strategist at Miller Tabak, expressed concerns on CNBC about Musk’s divided attention. “It’s a full-time job… When we start doing what he’s doing right now with DOGE, that takes an incredibly huge amount of time,” Maley said, suggesting potential challenges for Tesla shareholders in the intermediate term.

Tesla’s stock has faced pressure since President Donald Trump‘s inauguration, declining 20.64% from $424.07 on Jan. 21. Maley pointed to delays in key initiatives like the Robotaxi program and questions about the timeline for lower-priced vehicles, suggesting that Musk’s reduced focus on Tesla could impact product development.

Price Action: Tesla’s stock has shown resilience over the past year, gaining 78.87%. The stock closed at $336.51 on Wednesday, up 2.44% for the day, with after-hours trading showing additional gains of 1.26%, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.