Barclays is now a Tesla bull, and the SpaceX talks are a big reason why. Analyst Dan Levy upgraded Tesla to Overweight from Equal Weight on Monday, Oct. 26, 2026. He raised his price target to $450 from $370, which CNBC said implies 21% upside from Friday's close.
The case
- Merger: "With a combination heavily expected, and with expectation for some premium to TSLA stock, we believe this should drive upside for the stock," Levy wrote. Investing.com reported that he called the deal "a key part of the Tesla bull case." He sees an all-stock SpaceX acquisition of Tesla as the most likely structure.
- Autos: Levy said the auto business "is on track to grow this year after two years of declines," helped by FSD demand and rising exports from Giga Shanghai.
- Energy: Tesla's energy business is "nearly sold out for 2027" on data-center demand, which Levy believes could support shipment growth above 50%.
- Robotaxi: He pointed to "a sharp inflection in Robotaxi miles driven" in recent weeks, and to FSD adoption above 75% on newly purchased North American vehicles in Q3.
The catch
Any deal would need approval from more than 50% of each company's total outstanding voting power. Barclays called that a "high hurdle." Using its $450 target, Barclays estimated Musk could hold about 53% of total voting power in a combined company, Investing.com reported.
Tesla shares rose about 2% in premarket trading Monday. Of 49 analysts covering the stock, 25 rate it buy or strong buy and 22 rate it hold, per LSEG data cited by CNBC. Shares were down more than 17% year to date. Background: Reuters on Musk's merger comments. Nothing here is investment advice.