Tesla (TSLA) news that moved the stock

What happened

Wedbush tech analyst Dan Ives, the longtime prominent tech bull, initiated coverage on 49 names across the tech landscape on Wednesday with Outperform ratings across the board, including: Apple (AAPL) $400 and Alphabet (GOOGL) $400 price targets, Amazon (AMZN) $300, Meta (META) $900, Microsoft (MSFT) $615, Nvidia (NVDA) $300, Tesla (TSLA) $500, plus SpaceX at $225. SoftBank was initiated at Outperform with a $290 target and CrowdStrike (CRWD) at Outperform with a $335 target. Ives' thesis centers on the infrastructure layer staying supply-constrained 'through at least 2027,' with companies owning scarce compute, memory, and power capturing growth; enterprise software has recovered, cybersecurity takes a growing share of IT budgets, and 'physical AI' is the newest front. The initiation comes a month after Ives launched the Ives Ultra AI Opportunities closed-end fund (IVAI) targeting late-stage private AI companies.

What happened

The seven mega-cap companies — Nvidia, Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta and Tesla — ended Monday's trading with a combined market capitalization of $24.836 trillion, a new record, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Nvidia, the largest company by market cap, finished the day with a record-high stock price, closing at $237.58 (+2.1%) for a market capitalization of roughly $5.76 trillion. Microsoft rose 1.5%, ending at its highest level since last October and moving back toward a $4 trillion market cap. The record aggregate is larger than the nominal GDP of every country in the world except the United States.

What happened

Elon Musk confirmed on Saturday in an X post that Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC) is in discussions to join his Terafab chip venture, writing 'Just discussions, but something may come of it' in response to a report from Asian tech Substack Culpium saying TSMC was exploring how to help run Terafab's Texas semiconductor factories. Intel shares slid about 3.7-4% premarket to $114.95 on Monday, snapping a run that had the stock up 25% over the prior month, while TSMC's U.S. shares climbed 1.8% and its Taiwan shares rose ~3%. Oppenheimer semiconductor analyst Rick Schafer wrote Monday that Intel is currently slated to supply its 14A process to Terafab — 'a role TSMC's own nodes could replace' — with one option having TSMC own and run a fab serving only Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI while SpaceX invests or commits volume. Musk later acknowledged that any TSMC chips would likely supplement, not replace, Intel's role.

What happened

Tesla reported third-quarter 2026 deliveries of 486,532 vehicles on Friday morning, down 2.1% year over year from the record 497,099 of Q3 2025 — but beating the company-compiled consensus of ~461,974 by roughly 25,000 units (about 5.3%), its widest consensus beat since it began publishing estimates. The beat was broad: it topped all 24 analysts' individual estimates (range: 421,758 to 482,000). Tesla produced 464,391 vehicles, so deliveries exceeded production by ~22,000 for the second quarter in a row, continuing to work down the excess inventory built in Q1. Energy storage deployments hit 13.7 GWh, below the 15.9 GWh analysts expected but still the company's second-best quarter ever. Shares rose ~4.2% Friday.

What happened

The SEC's Division of Corporation Finance issued a no-action letter Tuesday (Sep 29) clearing Tesla's proposed 'Issuer Voluntary Retail Voting Program' (IVRVP) the same day it was submitted, following what Tesla's letter says were 'months-long' discussions with SEC staff. Under the voluntary program, retail shareholders opt in once — free, through Tesla, a broker, or a shared 'hub' — and from then on their shares are automatically voted in line with the Tesla board's recommendations. Participants choose one of two scopes: follow the board on every matter, or every matter except contested director elections and mergers/acquisitions/divestitures requiring a shareholder vote. Enrollees still receive full proxy materials, can override any single proposal, can cancel at any time, and get yearly reminders; votes are cast as soon as Tesla files its definitive proxy, before shareholders receive the proxy statement.