Tesla is on track for its best month since the election

The stock is riding high on analyst upgrades and big expected third-quarter sales.

November 2024 was a great month for Tesla. Its CEO threw his chips in for the winning presidential candidate, who was expected to slash federal red tape for Tesla’s white whale: self-driving cars.

Now, September 2025 looks like it might be nearly as good — at least in terms of the stock price’s increase from the month before.

Tesla is currently around $446 in premarket trading, nearly 34% higher than it ended August, according to FactSet price data. Tesla ended last November 38% higher than the month before, at $345. The company’s shares then hit an all-time high in December 2024 before a combination of falling sales and a fallout with President Trump, among other headwinds, sent the stock down. Tesla only went positive for the year earlier this month.

Lately, Tesla has been riding high on a series of analyst upgrades touting the company’s AI and autonomous ambitions. Last week, Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives raised his price target for Tesla to a Wall Street high of $600, forecasting a $1 trillion “AI and autonomous opportunity.”

The company is also, for the first time in a while, selling a lot of regular vehicles, which make up the lion’s share of its existing revenue. That part is a bit bittersweet, since the reason for the rise ends tomorrow. Electric vehicles in general are flying off lots in the US, with record sales expected this quarter as would-be buyers pull forward purchases to take advantage of the $7,500 federal tax credits, which end tomorrow. Of course, that suggests sales will fall off in subsequent quarters. Still, it’s good news now for Tesla, which some analysts predict will have a record quarter that could push the stock even higher.

We’ll know for sure later this week, when Tesla discloses third-quarter delivery numbers.

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Cox Automotive expects US EV sales to reach 410,000 in Q3, up more than 20% from last year.

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Alibaba jumps as Macquarie and Jefferies up price targets on AI cloud demand

Alibaba is up about 4% this morning after Macquarie analyst Ellie Jiang raised her price target on the stock to a Street high of $235.60, up from $177.90, and Jefferies analyst Thomas Chong upped his price target to $230 from $178, based on a strong cloud outlook and synergies in its rapid-delivery model of e-commerce. The duo is among a string of analysts lately, including those at Morgan Stanley, Baird, and Bank of America, to raise their price targets on the stock.

The Jefferies analyst cited the company’s “remarkable progress made in multiple areas,” including foundation models, AI infrastructure, and agents. Alibaba also jumped up last week on news of an AI spending hike, a new model launch, and a partnership with Nvidia.

Separately, Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Robert Lea and Jasmine Lyu highlighted the e-commerce and cloud giant as a key beneficiary of Huawei’s reported plan to double output of its top AI chip next year.

“The doubling of production of Huawei’s marque AI accelerator chip in 2026 could help ease the semiconductor bottleneck at Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu,” they wrote.

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Apple has built an app like ChatGPT to test AI Siri

Back in 2024, Apple previewed a new AI Siri that the iPhone maker has since mostly failed to deliver, with the overhaul now slated for the spring of 2026. But Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says Apple is making moves.

Apple has built an internal ChatGPT-like app to test the new Siri, Bloomberg reports. Workers are using the app, code-named Veritas, to test Siri’s ability to search through personal data like emails and perform in-app actions like editing photos — stuff its competitor Google is already offering.

“The app essentially takes the still-in-progress technology from the new Siri and puts it in a form employees can test out more efficiently,” Gurman wrote. “Even without a public launch, the internal tool marks a new phase in Apple’s preparations for Siri’s overhaul, a high-stakes release that could reshape perceptions of its AI efforts.”

Apple Builds a ChatGPT-Like App to Help Test the Revamped Siri

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T-Mobile and Verizon are seeing strong iPhone sales, too

T-Mobile and Verizon are seeing strong demand for the latest iPhone, according to a note today from Bank of America Global Research:

“As per T-Mobile mgmt., iPhone activations are up double digits (new and existing customers). Verizon mgmt. commentary also suggests strong upgrade activity in its existing base during the quarter.”

This is one of several indicators pointing to a strong upgrade cycle for the redesigned iPhone.

Early this month, a survey of iPhone users found that a higher percentage intended to upgrade than did last year. BofA and Wedbush Securities’ Dan Ives have both cited longer shipment times for the latest model than last year, suggesting relatively higher demand. The Information said that Apple asked suppliers to boost production of the iPhone 17 following strong preorder activity. Bloomberg reported long lines and sold-out phones when the devices went on sale last week. BGR noted today that the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro are still sold out online in the US.

Last week, Sherwood News reported that web traffic to Apple for the iPhone event and for the preorder period were elevated compared with the past few years, though we suggested that might have more to do with a natural upgrade cycle than features on the iPhone 17.