It's been a rare good week for Apple Inc (AAPL  ) bulls. A $100 billion U.S. manufacturing splash earned CEO Tim Cook some political goodwill and helped clear tariff fog - yet Wedbush's Dan Ives has a stark warning for the iPhone maker.

What Happened: Big tech is zipping around the AI track like an F1 car in Monza, Ives says. Apple, however, is "on a park bench drinking lemonade."

With 2.4 billion iOS devices in play, Apple should be leading the AI charge. Instead, the smartphone innovator has a "black cloud" over its stock, Ives says. An "invisible AI strategy" has essentially created a "Blackberry Moment" for Cook, he added.

Three Things Cook Must Do - Fast

To avoid being left in the digital dust, Ives lays out a three-part rescue plan:

  1. Buy Perplexity - The AI search engine is "a drop in the bucket" at $30 billion, but could supercharge Siri and reposition Apple in the AI space.
  2. Hire Real AI Talent - Apple's management team needs a shake-up. "Back to the Future" vibes won't cut it anymore.
  3. Partner With Google Gemini - OpenAI isn't the answer, Ives insists. Despite regulatory hurdles, making way for Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL  ) (GOOG  ) Google Gemini's deep integration could be Apple's best bet.
Ives still sees Apple as an Outperform with a $270 target, but warns that time is not on Cook's side. "It's time to take some big shots," he says - or risk being benched forever.