Shares of the world’s largest electric vehicle (EV) maker, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), soared over the past several days, with positive news flowing in from all sides. The stock gained 5.3% yesterday, June 20, and is up 1.5% in pre-market trading as of the last check. TSLA stock has zoomed 45.3% in the past month alone, with a series of rival automakers teaming with Tesla to offer access to its supercharger network in North America to its customers. Tesla’s charging network is gaining popularity as the new standard of EV charging, dwarfing the existence of several other EV charging players and dragging down their stocks.
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Texas Drives Companies to Adopt Tesla Plugs
Along similar lines, a Reuters report stated that yesterday Tesla’s home state, Texas, announced that EV charging companies need to adopt both the nationally recognized Combined Charging System (CCS) plugs as well as Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) plugs if they want to avail of Federal funds. The $7.5 billion in federal funds will be passed on to the charging companies via different states, and states have the autonomy to implement their own policy regarding electrifying the highways. Texas’ decision will put pressure on other states to implement similar rules, with stalwarts like Ford (NYSE:F) and General Motors (NYSE:GM) as well as newbies like Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN) already adopting Tesla’s NACS in their EVs.
Tesla China Gaining Momentum
Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory, its largest factory by output so far, is poised to finish the Q2FY23 deliveries on a strong footing. As per the latest figures from industry watchers, Tesla’s insurance registrations stood at 14,500 units for the week ending June 18, 2023. Although this figure represents an 11.5% decline in sales compared to the previous week, Tesla may still end up meeting an impressive figure. So far in June, Tesla has sold a total of 40,600 EVs. As per the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), Tesla sold 77,695 EVs in May.
Musk-Modi Tête-à-Tête
At a White House meeting of renowned U.S. personalities held on June 20, Tesla CEO Elon Musk engaged in a fruitful dialogue with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Musk affirmed his stance on the Indian subcontinent, calling it more promising than any other large country. Musk also stated that he plans to visit India next year and hopes to make a “significant investment” there, details of which could be expected soon. Rumors suggest that Musk plans to build a manufacturing base in India as well as bring SpaceX’s Starlink internet service to the nation.
How High Will Tesla Stock Go?
On TipRanks, the average Tesla price target of $213.12 implies the stock has a 22.4% downside potential from current levels. This is because TSLA stock has already gained a whopping 153.9% so far this year. Also, analysts remain split on the stock’s trajectory, awarding it a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on 16 Buys, ten Holds, and four Sell ratings. Piper Sandler analyst Alexander Potter, who has a Buy rating on Tesla with a price target of $280 (2% upside potential), noted that the EV maker is surely benefitting from China’s fake EV sales that support “upstream scale and reduce input costs” but are also often questioned by researchers.
Having said that, investors looking for the most accurate analyst for TSLA could follow Goldman Sachs’ Mark Delaney. Copying his trades on this stock and holding each position for one year could result in 73% of your transactions generating a profit, with an average return of 19.2% per trade.
