Cathie Wood, founder and CEO of Ark Invest, has reaffirmed her $2,600 price target for Tesla Motors (TSLA) by 2030, stating that 90% of the valuation is based on its autonomous taxi business—excluding the potential of its humanoid robot division, suggesting room for further upside.
During Tesla's annual shareholder meeting on Thursday, Wood explained her bullish thesis in an interview, emphasizing that the market continues to underestimate the scale of autonomous driving opportunities.
"90% of the valuation is driven by robotaxis," Wood noted, adding that this target has been public for "quite some time."
While robotaxi services remain central to her current valuation, Wood revealed that her team is actively assessing the potential of humanoid robots, describing the segment as a major future growth driver not yet factored into her price target.
"Optimus [Tesla’s humanoid robot] contributes very little to the $2,600 target," Wood clarified. "If development progresses faster than we expect, this price target will rise."
She argued that Tesla is uniquely positioned to lead this emerging field as it is "already a robotics, energy storage, and AI company."
The interview coincided with Tesla shareholders approving CEO Elon Musk’s $1 trillion compensation package at the annual meeting. Wood strongly endorsed Musk, calling him "the most productive and visionary person on the planet."
"We believe he deserves this compensation structure," she said, framing it as a performance-driven model that "aligns management with long-term shareholders."
Wood dismissed criticisms from governance firms like ISS and Glass Lewis, accusing them of failing to "conduct proper research" into Tesla’s long-term vision and being overly "short-term focused."