Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk is practically impossible to separate from the Tesla brand. While that has often been a powerful driving force for the company, in 2025, it has weighed on TSLA shares. Investors and would-be buyers have soured on Musk’s affiliations with President Donald Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), sending Tesla stock down more than 35% in the year to date. 

Renowned investor Ross Gerber of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management is one of those individuals who is not a fan of Musk’s political entanglements. 

Yet, he still thinks that people would be “foolish” not to have Tesla stock in their portfolios. Why? Climate change.

Gerber said, “Tesla’s one of the most important companies to solving climate.” But then, in the same interview, he opined that he can't “really even justify owning it.”

So, how should investors interpret his contradictions? Should Tesla be a part of an investor’s portfolio? 

I believe it should be, but with Tesla it is a long-term game that requires tons of patience. Notably, I have covered Tesla extensively across its various fields of operations in recent weeks, which can give a fair idea about why Tesla is one of the most consequential companies of this century.

Stable Financials

Tesla missed both revenue and earnings expectations in the most recent quarter. Revenues declined by 9% from the previous year to $19.3 billion, including a 20% yearly slide in automotive revenues to $13.9 billion. However, the energy generation and services segments saw revenues rising by 67% and 15% on a year-over-year basis to $2.7 billion and $2.6 billion.

Earnings slid by an even sharper 40% to $0.27, failing to surpass the consensus estimate of $0.41 by a considerable margin.

Yet, despite a slowdown in deliveries by 13% in the quarter to 336,681 vehicles, Tesla generated significant cash from its operations. Net cash from operating activities jumped to $2.2 billion from a mere $242 million in the year-ago period. Moreover, the company turned free cash flow positive with an inflow of $664 million compared to an outflow of $2.5 billion in the prior year. Overall, the company closed the quarter with a healthy cash balance of $37 billion, with short-term debt of just $2.2 billion.

Several Growth Catalysts

Tesla has vast mobility ambitions, with its upcoming Robotaxi service and Cybercab offering planned to start rolling out in June. Building on the over 3 billion autonomous miles already logged, as a callback to my previous piece — Tesla is inching closer to turning autonomous ride-hailing into a viable commercial business. Additionally, in a strategic move aimed at expanding its market reach, Tesla is preparing to launch a more affordable iteration of the Model Y. This pared-down version is expected to open the door for the company to tap into a previously underserved segment of price-sensitive consumers who are considering the switch to electric vehicles, thereby broadening its potential customer base and reinforcing its competitive position in the EV space.

Then there is Optimus, on which I detailed my assertions here. In this piece, I highlighted how Musk sees Optimus having a revenue potential surpassing $10 trillion — an outlook that underscores the sheer scale of the opportunity ahead. Musk has also stated that once annual manufacturing reaches 1 million units, the cost per unit will likely drop below $20,000, opening up a much bigger market.

Another key tailwind could be the Dojo Supercomputer, Tesla’s custom-built AI training supercomputer, designed to process vast amounts of video data for autonomous driving. It plays a critical role in training Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) system by analyzing real-world driving scenarios. In this dedicated piece highlighting Dojo's potential, I mentioned why financial services major Morgan Stanley projected an enterprise value-add of about $500 billion for Tesla because of Dojo.

Analyst Opinions on TSLA Stock 

Overall, analysts have given Tesla stock a consensus rating of “Hold,” with an average target price of $298.92, suggesting potential upside of approximately 15% from its current levels. Among the 41 analysts covering the stock, 16 have issued a “Strong Buy” recommendation, two rate it as a “Moderate Buy,” 13 maintain a “Hold” stance, while 10 have given it a “Strong Sell” rating.