But one Wall Street analyst is making the case that the stock still could surge another 66% over the next 12 months to hit $2,000. So far Tesla (TSLA) shares have risen an electrifying 189% this year, driven partly by a broader increase in the tech sector.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said in a report earlier this week that solid demand for Tesla’s Model 3 from Chinese consumers could help boost the stock. He dubbed the strength in China a “ray of shining light for Tesla in a dark global macro” environment.
Ives noted that demand for Tesla’s newer Model Y SUV is starting to ramp up in China, too. For these reasons, he thinks that China’s growth could add between $300 and $400 to its stock price.
There is a caveat though. Ives has an official price target on Tesla of just $1,250. His $2,000 call is a bull case. Everything has to go right for Elon Musk’s company.
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Still, at a price of $2,000 a share, Tesla would have a market value of about $370 billion.
There are only eight American companies that are currently worth more than that — Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), Google owner Alphabet (GOOGL), Facebook (FB), Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRKB), Visa (V) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ).
Tesla’s stock has continued to climb thanks to healthy sales for its pricier Model S and X vehicles as well as the more affordable 3 and Y models.
But many other Wall Street analysts are skeptical of Tesla.
The bear case for Tesla
According to data from Refinitiv, only nine of the 33 analysts who cover Tesla have a “buy” rating on it. Eleven have Tesla rated a “hold,” and the remaining thirteen are recommending that investors sell Tesla. The average price target for all Tesla analysts is just $710.47 a share.
Tesla bears point out that the company has yet to prove it can be consistently profitable, which is the main reason the stock is not in the S&P 500 yet — despite its huge market value.
J.D. Power also recently noted that Tesla ranked last in its latest quality ratings for major automakers.
And then there’s Elon Musk.
While the Tesla CEO is hailed as a visionary by his fans, Musk’s detractors worry about his penchant for saying controversial things on Twitter and recent comments suggesting that coronavirus concerns are overblown.
Some investors also are worried about a brain drain at Tesla. Several key executives have left in the past year and Tesla also does not have a chief operating officer to help Musk.
The lack of a COO is worrisome to some analysts, especially since Musk has many other business interests that occupy his time, such as SpaceX and his tunnel firm the Boring Company.