Tesla shares rev up as Morgan Stanley raises target price

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares steered higher after Morgan Stanley raised its target price on the electric car maker, saying it is well placed to address growing competition.

Morgan Stanley lifted the 12-month price target to US$379 from US$317, representing 11% upside from yesterday’s close.

While ambitious plans by traditional automakers for developing electric vehicles have raised fears about more competition for Tesla, the company’s existing infrastructure footprint will be a key differentiator over coming years, according to Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas.

“Infrastructure (of lack thereof) is the ‘elephant in the room’ of the EV revolution,” wrote Jonas said in a note.

“Compared to other OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), Tesla has made the biggest proprietary investment in superchargers and destination chargers globally. In most communities, we believe this infrastructure is larger than it needs to be in preparation for the expansion of the serviceable and charge-thirsty fleet. Other OEMs will closely watch how consumers react to this infrastructure.”

Shares in Tesla rose 1.75% to US$348.89 each in early US trading. 

Story by ProactiveInvestors