Investor's Corner
The Tesla Killer’s death and Elon Musk’s long-term play on batteries, vertical integration
At a press conference last year at Volkswagen’s global headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany, VW Chairman of the Board Herbert Diess stated that “anything that Tesla can do, we can surpass.” The VW boss even noted that its dedicated MEB electric car architecture would give the company cost advantages at a scale that’s out of Tesla’s reach.
This year, the Tesla Model 3 is steadily making its presence known in the United States auto market. In September alone, the Model 3 was listed as the 4th best-selling passenger car in the US, beating the ubiquitous Toyota Corolla Family. Tesla also finished Q3 on a strong note, manufacturing a total of 80,142 electric cars including 53,239 Model 3, as well as delivering a total of 83,500 vehicles, comprised of 55,840 Model 3, 14,470 Model S, and 13,190 Model X. This Q4, Tesla seems poised to deliver and produce an even more impressive number of vehicles.
For years, Tesla skeptics have pointed at upcoming competition from legacy automakers as a reason for the impending fall of the electric car maker. Just like Herbert Diess, many of Tesla’s critics pointed out that legacy auto’s years of experience, as well as their network of factories, should allow them to leapfrog Tesla in the electric car market as soon as they decide to enter the electric car market.
As companies like Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Jaguar, and Porsche are learning today, though, it is not so simple to build a compelling electric car that’s capable of challenging Tesla’s premium vehicles in their respective segments. Mercedes-Benz, for one, has announced that the EQC — its plush competitor for the Model X — will adopt a gradual rollout due to possible warranty concerns over the vehicle’s battery and other electric car components. German news agency Bild am Sonntag recently noted that the Audi e-tron would be released later than expected as well, due to a software issue and ongoing discussions with its battery provider, LG Chem, which is allegedly adjusting the price of the vehicle’s batteries.
Even legacy carmakers that seem to be fully embracing the transition to electrified transport seem to be learning a lesson in designing and producing electric cars. Jaguar, for one, recently confirmed that the I-PACE has a range of 234 miles per charge, lower than the company’s initial estimates for the vehicle. Porsche, on the other hand, is preparing to build the Taycan, but even workers at its plant in Stuttgart, Germany have to pitch in to make the car a reality. Porsche head of production Albrecht Reimold, for one, noted that employees at the Taycan’s upcoming factory would not have regular salary increases for the next few years as the Taycan’s factory gets constructed.
With legacy automakers revealing their highly-anticipated Tesla competitors, and with each company running into challenges of their own, analysts are starting to retire myth of the “Tesla Killer.” Last month, Toni Sacconaghi of Bernstein, a known skeptic of the electric car maker, stated that the Model 3 faces “no credible competition” from legacy auto until at least 2020. More recently, Berenberg analyst Alexander Haissl reiterated a Buy rating on TSLA stock with a $500 price target, stating that fears over competition from legacy automakers are overblown. Haissl further noted that Tesla’s driving ranges and vehicle efficiencies are well ahead of the competition.
Perhaps the most notable death knell on the Tesla Killer myth came from known TSLA short-seller-turned-long Andrew Left of Citron Research; who pointed out that “there is NO Tesla killer. Competition is nowhere to be found, and no electric vehicle is slated to launch at the Model 3 price point until 2021.”
Ultimately, Tesla’s prominent lead in the electric car market is the culmination of Elon Musk’s long-term play on electric car batteries and the company’s vertical integration. Since Tesla is producing its own battery cells from Panasonic’s lines in Gigafactory 1, the company is saving itself from any of the issues currently being faced by Audi as it struggles to reach a deal with LG Chem for the e-tron’s batteries, or Mercedes-Benz as it deals with uncertainties over the EQC’s battery warranty. The deep integration of Tesla’s hardware and software also creates a unified user experience that is not unlike Apple, allowing the company’s electric cars to perform at their best and preventing issues such as those being faced by Jaguar with regards to the I-PACE’s apparent inefficiency.
The death of the Tesla Killer and the improvements in Tesla’s Model 3 ramp, together with the announcement that the Q3 2018 earnings call would happen on Wednesday, appear to have improved investor sentiment for the company’s stock. On Tuesday, Tesla stock (NASDAQ:TSLA) rose $33.19, ending the day at $294.14, up 12.72% from Monday’s close.
Investor's Corner
Tesla just did something in South Korea that no foreign carmaker has ever done
Tesla’s Model Y just became South Korea’s best-selling car, beating every domestic model in May.
Tesla did something last month that no foreign car has ever done in South Korea by outselling every vehicle in the country, domestic or imported, finishing the month with Model Y as the single best-selling car across the entire Korean market. According to data from the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association released on June 4, the Model Y recorded 8,762 units sold in May, pushing the Kia Sorento into second place at 7,836 units and the Hyundai Grandeur into third at 5,183 units. It is the first time an imported vehicle has outsold every domestic model on a single-month basis.
Tesla imported 10,866 cars into South Korea in May, making it the top import brand for the fourth consecutive month. BMW followed at 6,555 units, less than two-thirds of Tesla’s total, while BYD registered just 1,032 units. The combined domestic sales of GM Korea, Renault Korea, and KG Mobility last month totaled just 7,019 units, meaning a single Tesla model outsold three Korean automakers combined.
Tesla FSD earns high praise in South Korea’s real-world autonomous driving test
South Korea has historically been one of the hardest markets for foreign automakers to crack. Hyundai and Kia together control close to 70% of the overall market and carry deep consumer loyalty built over decades. Tesla’s path into this market was an uphill battle due to high import duties, limited service infrastructure, and early skepticism about charging networks. In 2024, the Model Y was the best-selling imported car in South Korea with 18,717 units for the full year. By 2025, after the Juniper refresh, it cleared 50,000 units and took the top spot among all EVs.
Year to date, Tesla has a 250.8% increase in the country over the same period last year, and now holds a 30.8% share of the entire imported car segment for 2026. EVs as a category represented 48.6% of all imported passenger car registrations in May. As Teslarati has reported, the Juniper refresh brought meaningful improvements to range, interior quality, and ride refinement that addressed the most common criticisms of earlier Model Y versions. Those upgrades appear to be resonating in markets like South Korea where buyers compare Tesla directly against high end domestic competitors.
The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) stands to reap one of the most extraordinary returns in pension fund history thanks to a bold 2019 investment in SpaceX.
According to a recent report from The Globe and Mail, the Toronto-based fund invested roughly $300 million CAD (~$220 million USD at the time) in Elon Musk’s space company as its inaugural deal through the Teachers’ Innovation Platform.
At SpaceX’s anticipated $1.75 trillion IPO valuation, set for a mid-June debut on Nasdaq under ticker $SPCX, that stake could now be worth up to $11.6 billion USD. This would represent a roughly 50x return and easily become OTPP’s most successful single investment ever.
The fund manages $279 billion in assets for approximately 346,000 working and retired teachers in Ontario, potentially delivering an average boost of around $33,500 per member if fully realized.
SpaceX has filed its S-1 and plans to price shares at $135 each, aiming to raise a record $75 billion in what would be the largest IPO in history, surpassing Saudi Aramco. The company reported $18.67 billion in revenue for 2025, driven primarily by Starlink satellite internet growth and NASA contracts, though it continues to post significant losses tied to ambitious R&D in Starship and AI initiatives.
Important pieces moving forward include:
- Starlink Expansion: The satellite broadband service is scaling rapidly, targeting global connectivity, especially in underserved rural and remote areas. This segment offers massive recurring revenue potential as numbers climb.
- Starship and Reusability Leadership: SpaceX’s fully reusable Starship aims to slash launch costs dramatically, enabling frequent missions, Mars ambitions, and lucrative government/defense contracts. Success here could unlock exponential growth.
- AI and Diversification: Recent moves, including ties to xAI, position SpaceX in high-growth AI infrastructure, broadening beyond traditional aerospace.
- Validation Scrutiny: While the $1.75 trillion target excites investors, analysts like Morningstar value the company closer to $780 billion, citing high multiples (around 90x trailing revenue) and execution risks. A 180-day lockup period will prevent early investors like OTPP from selling immediately post-IPO.
The irony has not been lost on observers. Ontario’s government previously canceled a Starlink rural internet contract amid political tensions involving Musk, yet the pension fund’s savvy investment, made when SpaceX was valued around $33-36 billion, and Starlink was nascent, delivers outsized gains independent of politics.
For OTPP, this windfall strengthens its already solid 111 percent funding ratio and underscores the value of patient, innovation-focused capital allocation.
For SpaceX, the IPO marks a new chapter: greater transparency, access to public markets for talent retention and growth capital, and heightened pressure to deliver on its multi-planetary vision.
All eyes are fixed on whether SpaceX can justify its lofty valuation through sustained execution. For Ontario teachers, the returns are already stellar, but SpaceX, like other Musk companies in the past, has plenty of things to prove. Perhaps the most ideal person for the job is at the helm, hoping to bring the company to a massive valuation.
Tesla has its answer to grow its automotive sales over the next few years, TD Cowen analyst Itay Michaeli says, but it just has to bring it to the U.S.
On Thursday, Michaeli reiterated his $490 price target and the ‘Buy’ rating he already held on Tesla stock (NASDAQ: TSLA). However, its automotive division has struggled to show sequential growth over the past few years, mostly due to its focus on AI and Full Self-Driving. Tesla already axed two of its lower-volume vehicles with the Model S and Model X earlier this year.
However, Tesla does not need to engineer an entire new vehicle to trigger an upward tick in sales; it just has to bring it from China to the U.S., Michaeli said.
He is talking about the Model Y L, a slightly larger version of the all-electric crossover that is already available in China. U.S. customers have been pleading with CEO Elon Musk to bring it to the country since its launch in Asia last year, but he’s not convinced of it because of the advent of self-driving and its importance in this particular market.
The problem is that Tesla owners have been requesting something larger that could fit a typical American family. The Model Y L is slightly larger than the standard Model Y, but some are concerned that it could still be too small to fit what most people might need.
Instead, they have asked for a full-size SUV from Tesla.
Tesla gives big hint that it will build Cyber SUV, smaller Cybertruck
Nevertheless, the Model Y L still presents a great opportunity for Tesla in the U.S., and Michaeli says that there is an additional sales opportunity of about 100,000 units, with demand potential falling somewhere between 60,000 and 135,000 units.
TD Cowen’s note to investors also analyzed that Tesla’s growth could come from a stock perspective as well, positively impacting the stock price, as it has been widely reliant on vehicle sales, even though Tesla has truly phased itself away from that being an important metric.
Tesla stands to gain greatly from the introduction of the Model Y L in the U.S., but only if Elon Musk sees it as a viable fit for the market. Families may need to see Tesla bring something larger to the U.S., or they might be forced to buy from another automaker that offers something that fits is needs for more interior space to haul around the kids.
Tesla Full Self-Driving is taking over Europe: fourth country gets FSD approval
Tesla revises FSD transfer policy on new Cybertruck trim, causing cancellations
