With the Model 3 launch coming soon, Tesla is on track to achieve in three years what Porsche took 10 years to do. And this week's release candidate color is red.
Tesla is an "extreme growth story" that cannot be valued in the same way large automakers are, Evercore ISI analyst George Galliers said in a research note on Monday (5/8) according to a report at CNBC. And with the Model 3, Tesla can achieve sustainable gross margins comparable to those of high-end German auto brands and grow as rapidly as a Chinese automaker, the analyst said.
Galliers pointed to Tesla's "top-line metrics" as unrivaled, with unit sales growing just over 50 percent last year and automotive revenues up 70 percent. "To put Tesla's growth in context...we note it took Porsche 10 years and four product lines" to go from 35,000 units to just under 100,000, the CNBC report said. "Even with only a small contribution from the more affordable Model 3, Tesla is on course to achieve similar growth in only 3 years," Galliers said.
Tesla is a dangerous stock to short because the amount of consumer demand is "unimaginable"
That upbeat take on Tesla was followed on Tuesday by another positive take on the company via an appearance on CNBC's Squawk Box by Social Capital's founder and CEO, Chamath Palihapitiya.
Tesla is a "dangerous stock to be short," Palihapitiya said, adding that consumer demand for Tesla EVs is "unimaginable" and that Tesla in four years has grabbed a third of every luxury car. "When they announced the Model 3, BMW saw a 25 percent decrease in the 3 Series," he said. "There's clearly a desire by consumers to have this company win," Palihapitiya said on Squawk Box.
Obligatory Tesla-is-screwed report
Of course, there's no shortage of doom-gloom stories. One of the most popular themes goes something like this: Tesla is doomed once established luxury car makers get serious about EVs. There's usually a couple of trending stories a week that repeat, more or less, the same thing. This week's installment is predictable and comes from TheDrive, titled "Tesla Is Screwed Once Luxury Carmakers Start Building Real Electric Cars."
Red Model 3 spotted
This week we saw the fourth color for the Model 3 in the wild: red. This follows spy shots/videos of black, blue and white release candidates. See photos here via Electrek. Though it should be noted that Tesla is showing a red Model 3 on its official Model 3 page.
