Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock has been heavy and choppy lately, but investors should prepare for much more bullish price action (potentially). I am bullish on TSLA stock because Tesla CEO Elon Musk can finally refocus his attention back on the disruptive automotive business that made him the world’s richest man.
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Tesla is a famous manufacturer of electric vehicles (EVs). Musk, meanwhile, is a love-him-or-hate-him kind of corporate leader. If you read the sensationalist headlines, you might assume that Musk is mired in one distasteful scandal after another.
Yet, you might miss the more important developments, including Tesla’s global expansion plans — or maybe I should call it Tesla’s global takeover plans. Even if Musk is unpredictable, his vision is undeniable, and his company looks unstoppable.
Musk Finally Moves Beyond the Twitter Distraction
In a time of high inflation and fierce competition in the EV space, it’s understandable that Tesla’s stakeholders want assurance that Musk is committed to the automaker that he founded so many years ago. At the very least, they can rest assured that the CEO won’t be overly distracted by the day-to-day concerns of running a social media platform.
In case you didn’t get the memo, Musk stepped down as CEO of Twitter and appointed NBCUniversal executive Linda Yaccarino as his replacement in that role. Oddly enough, TSLA stock fell after this news was released to the public.
Clear-minded commentators were bullish on this development, however. For instance, Gene Munster, managing partner at Deepwater Asset Management, assessed that Musk’s departure from Twitter’s CEO position is “a fractional positive for Tesla shareholders because he will likely spend a little bit more time on Tesla.”
In a similar vein, Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Sophie Lund-Yates expects Tesla’s investors to probably (though perhaps not immediately) “celebrate this move… with Musk’s very hands-on approach at Twitter leading to concerns he had taken his eye off the ball at this EV giant.”
Frankly, I’m surprised that TSLA didn’t rally on this development. In my corner (or am I in his corner?) is Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives, who seems glad to see Musk’s Twitter “overhang” out of the way now. Ives, by the way, assigned an Outperform (i.e., Buy) rating and an ambitious $215 price target to Tesla stock.
Tesla is Expanding Internationally
Just as Musk (hopefully) won’t be distracted by Twitter too much anymore, investors shouldn’t be distracted by some of the daily headlines involving Tesla. Instead, I invite you to be more of a big-picture thinker and to focus on Tesla’s rapid international expansion plans.
We can start our virtual itinerary in China, where Tesla is seeking regulatory clearance to boost output at the automaker’s Shanghai Unit. In addition, Tesla’s looking to produce pouch-battery cells on a massive scale in China. There, a “trial production line” for Tesla’s proposed pouch-type battery cells “would have initial annual capacity to make 20,000-amp-hours of cells,” Reuters reports.
Now, let’s head over to India, where some of Tesla’s senior executives reportedly plan to meet with the nation’s government officials. Bloomberg reports that they’ll be busy discussing “local sourcing of components for Tesla’s models,” but I suspect that the Tesla execs will have more than manufacturing on their minds. Don’t be too surprised if Musk’s team works hard to curry favor with India’s top officials, as the densely populated emerging nation could someday represent a vast source of clean-energy vehicle sales and profits.
Finally, we can make a stopover in France, where Musk evidently intends to make “significant investments.” The friendly feelings appear to be mutual, with Bloomberg reporting that French President Emmanuel Macron “sought to persuade Elon Musk… that France is a leading hub for foreign investments and electric cars.” It’s no secret that France is receptive to clean-energy initiatives, so Tesla may be able to position itself as a welcome infiltrator among EV giants there.
Is TSLA Stock a Buy, According to Analysts?
Turning to Wall Street, TSLA stock is a Moderate Buy based on 15 Buys, 11 Holds, and four Sell ratings. The average Tesla stock price target is $202.84, implying 16.7% upside potential.
If you’re wondering which analyst you should follow if you want to buy and sell TSLA stock, the most profitable analyst covering the stock (on a one-year timeframe) is Alexander Potter of Piper Sandler, with an average return of 110.04% per rating and a 57% success rate. See below.
Conclusion: Should You Consider TSLA Stock?
There’s actually a lot happening with Tesla now, and it’s not all related to Musk’s latest personal scandals. Going forward, Tesla stock traders should keep their eyes on the prize and separate the news from the noise and nonsense.
Besides, if TSLA stock irrationally went down after Musk appointed a new leader for Twitter, then that’s really just a buying opportunity, in my opinion. So, consider participating in Tesla’s global takeover — spearheaded by a CEO that will, I hope, be more focused today than he was in 2022.
