Al Root

Tesla stock has been struggling lately. Investors hope for a bounce as some of the politics driving increased investor uncertainty subside.

Shares of the electric vehicle maker were falling 3.2% in premarket trading at $256.08, while S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 0.6% and 0.5%, respectively.

Investors could use some good news. They would probably settle for no news. Coming into Monday trading, Tesla stock was down about 26% since Feb. 20.

There wasn't too much special about that day, except that, looking over the past 90 days, Google searches for "DOGE" peaked then.

DOGE even outpaced searches for "Tesla" on Feb. 20.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, of course, helps run President Donald Trump's newly created Department of Government Efficiency -- which has created controversy, to say the least, resulting in some protests against DOGE and even Tesla.

DOGE has created more uncertainty and a new risk factor for Tesla investors to weigh. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives wrote Thursday that investors will eventually need to look past DOGE-related issues. He rates the shares Buy and has a $550 price target for Tesla stock. Ives believes Tesla is on the cusp of unlocking trillions in value, using AI to start a self-driving taxi service and humanoid robotics business.

DOGE searches might have peaked. That alone might make investors happy. Now they need to watch out for a turn in DOGE sentiment. That could take a while. DOGE is expected to run until July 4, 2026.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com

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March 10, 2025 06:43 ET (10:43 GMT)

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