Tesla IncTSLACOMMENTApr 19, 2017Stock price when the opinion was issued
As of Jun 05, 2026. Market Open.
They reported Q1 last week and disappointed: 385K deliveries, well below expectations, but they totaled 408K vehicles in production, increasing 13% YOY, possibly creating excess inventory and leading to cutting prices. Also, energy storage was 8.8 gigawatt hours deployed vs. the expected 14.4, very disappointing. That said, Tesla has seen auto deliveries decline for 2 years, after peaking in 2023-4 while earnings peaked in 2022 at $4.07 EPS before falling 23%, 22% and another 31% in the next three years, nearly 60%. over 5 years, shares are up 53%. Tesla needs show growth in another area, robotaxis, to inspire shareholders, but there's no indication of sales or progress in this area. With their car business deteriorating, investors are starting to wonder if this is a dangerous stock, especially with Musk taking SpaceX public in the future. But that could trigger a sell-off of Tesla shares to buy SpaceX--right now, Tesla is the only way to invest in Musk, which is scarcity value, but that will end when SpaceX goes public. Until there's progress in robotaxis, Tesla shares will continue to fall.
Hard to know what the future holds for this company. Taking gigantic bets on robotics and power generation, and spending a lot of $$. Valuation is ~200x PE!! A lot of this fantastic news that may or may not happen in the future seems to be already priced into the stock. Elon Musk is an amazing storyteller.
He won't buy for clients right now. He doesn't like to buy on unknown what-ifs 20 years in the future. We'll have to see how the Chinese EVs work out. But if it came down to a reasonable valuation, he'd be interested.
Used to be invested, but not now. Sees a lot of potential for upside, but also for downside. Robotics (very early stages) and autonomous vehicles (will take longer to gain adoption). She wants companies with good risk/reward plus some kind of valuation support to get them through a downturn. TSLA doesn't have that.
Long term, over 10 years, likely to do well.
A truly unique company. Some people look at this as a car company and some will see it as a battery or alternative energy company. In reality, it is a company that is changing the world. The cost of a battery cell a year ago was $500. Today it is $190. As the giga factory comes online, it will be $150 per cell with a clear line of sight to $100 per cell. At that time, there is no petrol-powered drivetrain that can compete with an electric drivetrain., They think they can cut costs of capital spending by half in the utility business. If they can produce 500,000 of the Model3 car, they can earn $20 a share. There are risks in this.