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Tesla Just Got Upgraded by Barclays - 6 Things That Could Shape Your Next Move

Tesla shares rose 6.48% Monday afternoon after a Barclays upgrade put Wall Street's focus on SpaceX deal talk and operating trends.

By Damilola Esebame, CFEI® , Edited by Laura Hohenstein

Updated Oct. 26, 2026

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Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) shares were at $396.35 in Monday afternoon trading, up $24.13, or 6.48%, from the previous close of $372.22. A single-day gain of that size can reshape the financial fitness of any portfolio with meaningful Tesla exposure. The move followed a Barclays upgrade that put fresh attention on Tesla's auto business, energy-storage demand, robotaxi ambitions, and possible SpaceX-related deal speculation.

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Analyst upgrade drives rally

TSLA opened at $379.59 and has traded as high as $397.27. The day's low is also $379.59, meaning the stock has stayed above its opening price throughout the session.

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Barclays gets more bullish

Barclays analyst Dan Levy upgraded Tesla to Overweight from Equal Weight and raised the firm's price target to $450 from $370. Overweight is an analyst rating that generally means a firm expects a stock to do better than a benchmark or peer group.

Levy pointed to a potential recovery in Tesla's auto business, a return to delivery growth this year after two years of declines, Full Self-Driving adoption, and rising exports from Giga Shanghai. Barclays also said Tesla's energy business is nearly sold out for 2027 because of data-center demand, which the firm said could support energy-storage shipment growth of more than 50%.

Levy also tied part of the upgrade to investor discussion around a potential Tesla and SpaceX combination, while cautioning that Tesla's core and emerging businesses were also part of the thesis.

Mizuho adds support

Mizuho had also raised its Tesla price target to $460 from $450 while keeping an Outperform rating on the stock. The additional analyst action added to a session in which the market was already responding to Barclays' more positive view.

The move kept attention on Tesla's growth profile at a time when investors were also watching electric vehicles, autonomy, and energy storage as parts of the company's broader valuation debate.

SpaceX talk remains central

Wall Street is still weighing a potential combination between Tesla and SpaceX, another Elon Musk-led company. Musk previously said the idea would be a good one, while reports said special committees at the two companies had been formed to discuss a possible union.

The topic remains unsettled. SpaceX said in a regulatory filing that no determination by its special committee had been made regarding any potential combination and that any potential combination would require additional approvals. That leaves the issue important for traders but unresolved as a concrete corporate event.

Recent results stay in focus

Tesla reported third-quarter 2026 results last week, including a gross margin of 19.6% and adjusted earnings per share of $0.48, ahead of the roughly $0.44 consensus cited in market coverage. Gross margin shows how much a company keeps from sales after direct production costs.

The company's third-quarter delivery report also remains part of the debate. Tesla delivered 486,532 vehicles in the period, while deliveries fell from 497,099 vehicles a year earlier. The results highlighted a split between stronger-than-expected unit demand and continued questions about profitability, spending, and growth.

Robotaxi and production updates

Tesla's Cybercab vehicles drew attention at Austin's Formula 1 race over the weekend. Market coverage cited community trackers that logged roughly 1,250 Cybercab sightings, with the vast majority classified as fully driverless.

Tesla's Berlin factory also set a new weekly production record of 7,000 Model Y units. The update reinforced the view that investors are watching manufacturing execution alongside autonomous-driving milestones.

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Bottom line

TSLA's Monday jump centers on analyst upgrades, operational optimism, and renewed attention to a possible SpaceX-linked transaction. The surge has also reignited interest among sidelined retail traders eager to start investing in momentum-driven names riding strong catalysts. Market watchers are focused on whether Tesla can pair stronger auto and energy-storage trends with progress in autonomous driving.

This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice.

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