Elon Musk Told Tesla Workers to ‘Hang On.’ The Stock Is Rising Today.

Tesla (TSLA) shares surged Friday afternoon, rising a day after Elon Musk told his employees to “hang on.”

The shares, which added over 5% in Friday’s session, still fell for a ninth consecutive week. Tesla has had a rough few months, losing about half their value since hitting a record high in December while facing worries about declining sales, new tariffs, and a backlash to CEO Musk’s political activities.

On Thursday, at an all-hands meeting, Musk told staff to “hang on to your stock,” arguing it’s difficult for Wall Street to fully understand the value of its growth potential tied to advances in autonomous driving and the company’s work on its Optimus humanoid robot, which Musk has previously said could eventually come to represent a larger source of Tesla’s revenue than its vehicles.

“Tesla stock goes up and it goes down, but actually it’s still the same company,” Musk said. “It’s just people’s perception of the future.”

Wedbush analysts called the event a “major and much needed step forward” after calls for Musk to reassure investors after the stock’s recent slide. “We applaud Musk for ‘reading the room’ and showing important hand holding at this key time for employees and investors,” they said.

The Wedbush analysts, among some of the most bullish on Tesla, hold a $550 price target for the stock, well above the average target of $355 compiled by Visible Alpha.

Morgan Stanley analysts, who cut their target to $410 from $430 Thursday, told clients Tesla’s decline in deliveries is “not particularly narrative changing,” and that Tesla remains a “top pick,” citing its potential as a “highly diversified play on AI and robotics.”

UPDATE—March 21, 2025: This article has been updated since it was first published to reflect more recent share price values.