Why Jim Cramer Won’t Bet Against Tesla (TSLA) and Musk’s Rising Influence in Washington?

We recently published a list of Jim Cramer on Microsoft and Other Stocks. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) stands against other Jim Cramer’s stocks.

Jim Cramer, host of Mad Money, discussed Tuesday’s market action, noting that the rally following President-elect Donald Trump’s victory temporarily slowed down as Wall Street begins to assess the potential effects of broad tax cuts on the bond market. Cramer pointed out that while the stock market typically reacts positively to tax cuts, there’s a catch.

“What if the Treasury doesn’t have the money? Then just like everybody else, the government has to borrow to make up the difference and it borrows by selling bonds, trillions, trillions of dollars worth of bonds.”

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Even though these tax cuts have not yet materialized, Cramer observed that the bond market seems to be sending a warning signal. He asked whether the country could face an interest rate reckoning if it borrows too much, and pointed out that this is a concern on many minds right now. Cramer continued by suggesting that perhaps investors have been too focused on the stock market rally, putting the cart before the horse, with the horse being the bond market.

Cramer acknowledged that stocks have surged since Trump’s election, but the rally has been uneven. While many investors expect tax cuts across the board—on corporate income, individual income, and capital gains—no one is exactly sure what form these cuts will take. However, it’s widely anticipated that overall taxes will be lower. Cramer noted:

“If it’s at all like 2016 when Trump first became president, the wealthy will be the biggest beneficiaries. And when rich people get more money, the theory goes they invest in stocks, create new businesses… It has always worked for the stock market.”

But Cramer warned that there’s another side to the equation: the bond market. On Tuesday, it became clear that investors in bonds were reacting nervously to the possibility of unfunded tax cuts. Interest rates surged across all maturities, signaling a shift in sentiment. Cramer emphasized that when you look at how large and fast the bond market’s move has been, it highlights a critical concern: the federal government is already borrowing trillions of dollars from the bond market, and this is happening before any tax cuts have even taken effect. He explored the possibility that this is why the bond market is responding so negatively, making it more difficult for the stock market to keep climbing at the same pace.

“If you believe we’re about to get big tax cuts, remember that somebody eventually has to pay for the missing tax receipts, as boring as that is, even if that means the government borrows a lot more money, causing bond yields to spike. We can only hope the stock market goes back to ignoring long-term interest rates or that those rates come back down in response to some benign inflation numbers.”

Our Methodology

For this article, we compiled a list of 8 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during the episode of Mad Money on November 12 and listed the stocks in the order that Cramer mentioned them.

Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).

Why Jim Cramer Won’t Bet Against Tesla, Inc (TSLA) and Musk’s Rising Influence in Washington?

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Cramer noted that Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock fell on Tuesday but said that he would not bet against Musk.

“I’d be remiss not to mention Tesla. After days and days of rallying pretty strictly because CEO Elon Musk is tight with the President-elect, the stock took a breather today, falling 6%. Maybe it’s a pause that refreshes. I sure wouldn’t bet against Elon Musk here, but there are plenty of scalpers out there who bought Tesla the day after the election and they aren’t even sure how the company’s doing. For them, this was a short-term Trump trade, and they sure as heck hit the eject button today.”

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), known for its cutting-edge electric vehicles and energy solutions, has seen significant gains in its stock price following the U.S. presidential election. The company’s founder, Elon Musk, has become a central figure in the aftermath of the election, as President-elect Donald Trump appointed him to a newly established role focused on improving government efficiency.

Musk, alongside former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, will co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency, an initiative that Trump has stated will operate outside the typical structures of government. Trump’s appointment of Musk is seen as a move to streamline government operations by reducing bureaucracy, cutting unnecessary regulations, and addressing wasteful spending. In a statement, Trump emphasized that Musk and Ramaswamy would help pave the way for these changes and revamp federal agencies.

According to Daniel Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, Musk’s increasing influence within the White House could lead to significant advantages for Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA). Ives described Musk’s involvement in the Trump administration as a strategic move, suggesting that the potential benefits for both Musk and Tesla far outweigh any risks. He characterized Musk’s decision to align with Trump as a “poker move for the ages,” positioning Musk to leverage his growing reach across federal agencies to benefit his business interests.

Overall, TSLA ranks 3rd on our list of Jim Cramer’s stocks. While we acknowledge the potential of TSLA as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than TSLA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.