Tesla bull Wedbush breaks down Trump vs. Harris pros and cons

Tesla bull Wedbush is weighing the positives and negatives of both potential White Houses as Donald Trump and Kamala Harris will attempt to win the presidency at the polls tomorrow.

Heading into the election, Tesla is one of many companies that will feel the impact of both candidates. CEO Elon Musk has heavily backed Donald Trump and has been extremely vocal about his discontent with Kamala Harris.

Making sure no stone is unturned in his political narrative, Musk has essentially catalyzed what is now an extremely polarizing Tesla ownership base: some owners have adopted his right-wing stance, while others have chosen to distance themselves from the brand altogether.

While consumers are obviously a big part of the story, Dan Ives of Wedbush is looking at Tesla’s outlook in terms of regulation, tariffs, tax credits, and other factors depending on who gets into the White House.

Tesla with a Trump White House

In a new note to investors, Ives says Tesla would feel a “clear competitive advantage” in the instance of a Trump White House because he would likely bring a “non-EV subsidy environment.”

Tesla’s “scale and scope,” along with Musk’s relationship with Trump, would spell major advantages for the company, but there are also some caveats:

“Musk doubling down on Trump clearly could have a negative impact on some aspect of its EV consumer demand, especially in the US. For now, the “Musk betting on Trump bet” has seen a limited negative impact on demand in the US although clearly, this political dynamic could impact some customers to go away from Tesla when buying decisions ultimately come around over the next year. For now, it’s a contained negative impact for Tesla around this political dynamic; however, it’s a political bet for Musk that has positives but also has negative consequences that could backfire.”

Ives continues by saying that Trump being elected would have a “harsher stance on China around tariffs and trade policy.” Ives brings up concerns that Beijing would likely launch policies that are more retaliatory and could invoke a trade war that would be coupled with geopolitical headwinds that could make things complicated for Tesla in the country.

Trump winning the White House for the second time could have a “wild card” effect on China, which Ives believes Wall Street will look at as a negative.

Elon Musk says Trump ‘must win’ election to ‘preserve democracy’

There are also plenty of positives in Ives’s view. One is the acceleration of Full Self-Driving and autonomy initiatives, which would benefit not only Tesla but also other companies like Waymo:

“The autonomous fast-tracking will be front and center for investors in this scenario as some of the 2026/2027 goals for Tesla could be accelerated to stay on track with the China timeline for autonomous currently underway.”

Tesla with a Harris White House

Wedbush says that Harris winning the presidency would mean positives for all EV makers as the tax credit would likely expand in an effort to get more people to turn to electric cars.

Additionally, legacy companies that are unionized, like General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis, would thrive in a Harris White House, while it would be “likely a neutral/slight negative impact for Tesla.”

Wedbush’s note focuses primarily on the potential for Trump’s presidency and not Harris, which is the reason for the relatively limited comments on what the EV landscape would look like if the Democrat wins.

Additionally, things would likely continue as they are because of Harris’s admittance that she would not do much different than current President Joe Biden.

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