

Investor's Corner
Tesla (TSLA) S&P inclusion makes a believer out of a notorious skeptic
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) is headed for the S&P 500, and it’s making believers out of notorious skeptic Adam Jonas of Morgan Stanley, who has remained bearish on the automaker for over two years. Jonas has held Sell or Hold ratings on TSLA shares since October 2018, and for the first time since then, he is recommending that investors buy stock in the electric automaker.
“Tesla is on the verge of a profound model shift from selling cars (volume x price) to generating high margin, recurring software and services revenue (platform users x ARPU),” Jonas wrote in a note to investors. “The car business is the entry ticket to unlocking much larger TAMs. We see ~22% upside to PT, ~$142 upside to bull case.”
Jonas and Morgan Stanley upgraded the rating on TSLA stock from Equal-weight to Overweight and revised the price target from $360 to $540. At the time of writing, TSLA shares were trading at $444.96.
* Morgan Stanley Upgrades Tesla to Overweight, Raises PT to $540$TSLA
— David Tayar (@davidtayar5) November 18, 2020
Morgan Stanley and Jonas have shared a relatively bearish outlook on TSLA stock for over two years. Questioning the company’s value in the automotive market, Jonas has never seen Tesla as the dominating entity that it is, especially in the EV sector. Instead, the firm and the analyst alike have recommended that investors stay away from TSLA, expecting a slowing in momentum after strong spikes in stock price. Only recently have TSLA shares remained relatively consistent in price. That is, up until the S&P 500 announced that the automaker would be joining the index in late December, which sent the stock surging up 13% in after-hours trading on Monday evening.
However, the company’s five consecutive profitable quarters, along with sustained growth in production and delivery figures, except Q2 2020, which was slowed by the COVID-19 pandemic, has finally convinced Jonas to take a bullish outlook on TSLA.
Admitting that an early-year report, which analyzed Tesla’s sensitivity in varying scenarios, was not as in-depth as the firm would have liked, Morgan Stanley revisited TSLA in a more recent study. “Since that time, we have had the opportunity to conduct more proprietary research on this topic, tapping into Morgan Stanley’s leading technology equity research team. At the same time, Tesla has continued to develop its services/platform business to a level where we feel that is appropriate for investors to consider to change how they model the company’s revenue and profit streams.”
The firm added that Tesla Energy and Tesla Insurance were both factored into the base case for the first time with the newly-revised price target and rating.
More revisions could come after the company discloses its end-of-year numbers.
“Tesla is currently generating highly profitable cash flow generating service revenue — this business exists today,” he writes. “Due to the growth of service revenue, improved capability (which may trigger step changes in the recognition of deferred revenue) and earnings materiality, we believe it is only a matter of time before investors are provided with far greater levels of disclosure that can trigger a further re-rating of the equity.”
Jonas’ and Morgan Stanley’s backtrack on TSLA stock shows that believers are made out of skeptics. Before too long, analysts who remain bearish on the company’s stock will likely have to retrace their steps and revise their outlooks as Jonas did here.
Disclaimer: Joey Klender is a TSLA Shareholder.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk affirms Tesla commitment and grueling work schedule: “Daddy is very much home”
The remarks came as Tesla shares crossed the $400 mark on the stock market.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk reiterated his commitment to the electric vehicle maker and its future projects this week, responding to speculation following his $1 billion purchase of TSLA stock.
The remarks came as Tesla shares crossed the $400 mark on the stock market, extending a rally fueled in part by Musk’s TSLA purchase.
Elon Musk’s nonstop work schedule
Amidst the reaction of TSLA stock to Musk’s $1 billion investment, Tesla owners such as @greggertruck noted that “Daddy’s home.” Musk replied, stating that “Daddy is very much home.” He then shared details of a packed weekend of work, which was definitely grueling but completely within character for a “wartime CEO.”
Musk did note, however, that he had lunch with his kids during the weekend despite his extremely busy schedule.
“Daddy is very much home. Am burning the midnight oil with Optimus engineering on Friday night, then redeye overnight to Austin arriving 5am, wake up to have lunch with my kids and then spend all Saturday afternoon in deep technical reviews for the Tesla AI5 chip design.
“Fly to Colossus II on Monday to walk the whole datacenter floor, review transformers and power production (excellent progress), depart midnight. Then up to 12 hours of back-to-back meetings across all Tesla departments, but with a particular focus on AI/Autopilot, Optimus production plans, and vehicle production/delivery,” Musk wrote in his post.
Wartime CEO
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives described Musk as operating in “wartime CEO mode,” highlighting autonomous driving and AI as a trillion-dollar market opportunity for Tesla. Musk reiterated this point late last month as well, when he outlined the several projects he is juggling among his numerous companies. At the time, Musk stated that he was busy with Starship 10, Grok 5, and Tesla V14. This was despite his notable presence on X.
With Tesla Master Plan Part IV being partly released, the company is entering what could very well be its most ambitious stage to date. To usher in an era of sustainable abundance, Tesla would definitely require a “wartime CEO,” someone who could remain locked in and determined to push through any obstacles to ensure that the company achieves its goals.
Elon Musk
Tesla analyst says Musk stock buy should send this signal to investors
“With Musk’s (Tesla stock) purchase, combined with the upward momentum for delivery expectations and robotaxi rollout, we are becoming more bullish.”

Tesla CEO Elon Musk purchased roughly $1 billion in Tesla shares on Friday, and analysts are now breaking down the move as the stock is headed upward.
One of them is William Blair analyst Jed Dorsheimer, who said in a new note to investors on Monday that Musk’s move should send a signal of confidence to stock buyers, especially considering the company’s numerous catalysts that currently exist.
Elon Musk just bought $1 billion in Tesla stock, his biggest purchase ever
Dorsheimer said in the note:
“With Musk’s (Tesla stock) purchase, combined with the upward momentum for delivery expectations and robotaxi rollout, we are becoming more bullish. This purchase is Musk’s first buy since 2020. To us, this sends a strong signal of confidence in the most important part of Tesla’s future business, robotaxi.”
Musk putting an additional $1 billion back into the company in the form of more stock ownership is obviously a huge vote of confidence.
He knows more than anyone about the progress Tesla has made and is making on the Robotaxi platform, as well as the company’s ongoing efforts to solve vehicle autonomy. If he’s buying stock, it is more than likely a good sign.
Tesla has continued to expand its Robotaxi platform in a number of ways. The project has gotten bigger in terms of service area, vehicle fleet, and testing population. Tesla has also recently received a permit to test in Nevada, unlocking the potential to expand into a brand-new state for the company.
In the note, Dorsheimer also touched on Musk’s recent pay package, revealing that William Blair recently met with Tesla’s Board of Directors, who gave the firm some more color on the situation:
“We recently participated in a meeting with Tesla’s board of directors to discuss the details of Musk’s performance package. The board is confident of its position in the Delaware case and anticipates a verdict by end of year. It does not expect a similar situation to occur under new Texas jurisdiction. Musk has the board’s full support, and we expect he’ll get more than enough shareholder support for this to pass with flying colors.”
Tesla stock is up over 6 percent so far today, trading at $421.50 at the time of publication.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk just bought $1 billion in Tesla stock, his biggest purchase ever
Prior to this latest move, Musk’s most recent purchase was for about 200,000 shares worth $10 million in 2020.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares rose on Monday after CEO Elon Musk disclosed a rare insider purchase of company stock worth about $1 billion.
A filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revealed that Musk acquired 2.57 million shares last Friday at various prices. The move represents Musk’s largest TSLA purchase ever by value, as per Verity data.
Elon Musk’s TSLA purchase
The disclosure sent Tesla shares up more than 8% in premarket trading Monday, as investors read the purchase as a notable vote of confidence, as stated in a CNBC report. Tesla stock had closed slightly lower Friday but remains more than 25% higher over the past three months. It should be noted that prior to this latest move, Musk’s most recent purchase was for about 200,000 shares worth $10 million in 2020.
Market watchers say the purchase could help shore up investor sentiment amid a volatile year for TSLA stock. Shares have faced pressure from a variety of factors, from year-over-year sales challenges due to the new Model Y changeover, political controversies tied to Musk, and reduced U.S. incentives for EVs under the Trump administration. Nevertheless, analysts such as Wedbush’s Dan Ives stated that Musk’s purchase was a “huge sign of confidence for Tesla bulls and shows Musk is doubling down on his Tesla A.I. bet.”
Tesla and Elon Musk
Musk already owns about 13% of Tesla, and his latest purchase comes as the company prepares for a key shareholder vote in November. Investors will decide whether to approve a compensation package for Musk that could ultimately be worth as much as $975 billion if ambitious market value milestones are achieved. The package has a long-term target of pushing Tesla’s market capitalization to $8.5 trillion, compared with about $1.3 trillion at Friday’s close.
Wall Street’s current consensus price target still implies a roughly 20% decline from current levels, though some Tesla bulls remain optimistic that the company could shift its focus toward autonomy, AI, and robotics. Musk has also asked shareholders to approve an investment into his latest venture, xAI.
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