Billionaire Ron Baron is Extremely Bullish on Tesla Stock. What’s His Reason?

Baron Capital founder Ron Baron told CNBC on Wednesday that now is the moment to buy Tesla stock, pointing to the carmakers self-driving software as the next driver of its share price. His firm holds roughly $5 billion in Tesla shares and about $25 billion in SpaceX, making it one of the largest outside backers of Elon Musks companies. Baron Points to Self-Driving Uptake and Rising Market Share Baron said Teslas Full Self-Driving system, the paid software that steers the car while a driver stays in the seat, is spreading quickly. He put growth at 55% a year. Teslas own second-quarter figures, however, are narrower. It reported 1.48 million active FSD subscriptions, up 56% in a year, with 55% of new North American deliveries having the software on at purchase. Baron also argued Teslas US market share is climbing because legacy carmakers have slowed their electric vehicle (EV) plans. Motor Intelligence data reported by the Wall Street Journal puts Tesla at 52% of US EV sales through August, up from 43%. That share grew as the market shrank. Total US EV sales fell 30% over the stretch, and Teslas own US deliveries dropped 16% to 325,351. Wall Street Targets Split as Musk Leaves Merger Door Open Tesla traded near $358 on Wednesday, up 0.3%, valuing the company at about $1.4 trillion, according to Yahoo Finance. Tesla (TSLA) Stock Performance. Source: Yahoo Finance TipRanks shows 26 analysts rating the stock a Moderate Buy, averaging a $377.08 target. The high sits at $505 and the low at $24.86, across 11 buys, 12 holds and three sells. Wells Fargo, among the bears, values the shares at $130 in its Wells Fargo sell call. Tesla (TSLA) Stock Forecast Price Target. Source: TipRanks Barons remarks come as Musk, Teslas chief executive, again declined to rule out folding the carmaker into SpaceX. At the All-In Summit this week, he said the companies already work closely together. With all this collaboration, on so many levels, who can imagine what action one might take when theres so much close collaboration in so many areas, Musk said, speaking at the All-In Summit. BeInCrypto reported Tesla SpaceX merger odds of just 18% for an announcement this year. Baron said he will back whichever route Musk picks. Teslas next delivery report will test his case, showing whether record deliveries and FSD demand hold up while US EV sales keep contracting.