Tesla (TSLA) gets $1.9K price target over new battery tech, Giga Shanghai’s potential

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) recently received a strong vote of confidence from Wedbush Securities, with analyst Dan Ives raising the company’s price target to $1,900 per share. In a note, the analyst outlined several key factors that could benefit the electric car maker, from its next-gen battery tech, the potential of Gigafactory Shanghai in China, and strong demand for its vehicles in the third quarter. 

The Wedbush analyst emphasized that EV demand in China is starting to accelerate once more, and this could play to the benefit of Tesla, whose locally-made Model 3 is proving to be quite popular among the country’s mainstream electric car buyers. With this in mind, Ives explained that Gigafactory Shanghai could very well be Tesla’s “linchpin” of success. 

“We are seeing more leverage in the story now on the horizon out of Giga 3 along with some price cuts both in the US and China that could further stimulate demand as the macro starts to improve and the lockdown conditions ease globally… To this point, robust Model 3 demand out of China remains a linchpin of success and appears to be on a run rate to hit 150k unit deliveries in the first year out of the gates for Giga 3 which is driving some strength for Tesla as well as Model Y deliveries starting to ramp as well,” Ives wrote.

Apart from Giga Shanghai’s potential, the Wedbush analyst emphasized the potential momentum that could result from Tesla’s impending announcement of its million-mile battery. Ives stated that the million-mile battery could be a key component to Tesla’s electric vehicle and energy storage business, and if the company manages to reduce production costs to about $100/kWh, it could pave the way for the company operating as a third-party EV battery supplier. 

“The technology innovations around Giga/Fremont remain the key ingredients in Tesla’s success on the battery front and we believe the company is getting closer to announcing the million-mile battery. In our opinion this battery technology will be very advanced, potentially last for decades, withstand all types of weather/terrain, and be another major milestone for the Tesla ecosystem. In theory, this battery will support an electric vehicle for 1 million miles and be a major step forward when competing vs. traditional gasoline-powered automotive competitors from both an ROI and environmental perspective,” Ives wrote. 

With these factors in mind, the Wedbush Securities analyst opted to raise his price target for TSLA from an already-positive $1,800 per share to an even more optimistic $1,900 per share. Interestingly enough, Ives opted to keep his “Neutral” rating on TSLA stock, as well as his bull case estimate of $2,500 per share. 

Disclosure: I have no ownership in shares of TSLA and have no plans to initiate any positions within 72 hours.

H/T Stanley Yuan.

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