Investor's Corner
Tesla (TSLA) has 50-70% five-year upside because of tech lead, Wall Street firm says
Tesla’s (NASDAQ: TSLA) potential within the next 4 to 5 years shows an upside of between 50% and 70% because of an extensive lead in vehicle technology.
Oppenheimer’s Colin Rusch appeared on CNBC’s Squawk Box on Thursday to talk about the electric automaker’s outlook for the future, which he believes is exceptionally positive considering the lead Tesla holds in software, technology, and industry focus.
Rusch and Oppenheimer’s price target for TSLA was at $968. Still, the analyst admits the company’s growth has blown past his firm’s targets because of technological advantages and a focus on one type of vehicle.
“It’s run aggressively past our price target, which was $968. We put that in place over a quarter ago, and as we look at what the company has planned out to 2024 and 2025, we see the potential for 50 to 70 percent upside to our unit numbers,” Rusch said.
TSLA stock has surged 46% in one month, reaching highs on five consecutive trading days from July 1 to July 5. The company exceeded Wall Street expectations with 90,650 total units delivered in the second quarter of the year.
Oppenheimer is looking to see what Tesla’s gross margin number when the company’s Q2 2020 Earnings Call takes place on July 22.
“This company has an exceptional amount of leverage in the model at the manufacturing level, so they’re continuing to drive gross margins higher and benefit from the efficiency in Shanghai,” Rusch added. “There is some significant earnings power still left to be had here.”
Tesla’s distinct advantages in growth also come from the company’s primary focus on manufacturing purely electric vehicles. This is an advantage that other automakers simply do not have. While many large automakers are trying to transition to at least a partial electric fleet of vehicles, they are still primarily focused on manufacturing combustion engine vehicles.
This ends up splitting the concentration away from electrification, and companies spend less time developing software and technology that would advance the performance of an electric fleet.
Tesla spends 100% of its time developing and manufacturing electric vehicles, which will eventually become a mainstream form of transportation in the future. This gives the Silicon Valley-based electric car maker a distinct advantage in terms of performance, range, and battery technology.
Rusch indicates that Tesla’s upside potential within the next few years is so astronomical because the automotive industry continues to push toward electrification. In a few years, many large automakers will have 10-20 electric cars, but Tesla’s vehicles will be preferrable among car buyers because of advanced technology and performance.
“As we look across the industry and we get some of those competitive companies, they just continue to lag in terms of the products that they’re bringing the market,” Rusch said. “The functionality to the Over-the-Air updates, and operating system, and it continues to look like Tesla has the two to three year lead from a technology perspective.”
At the time of writing, TSLA stock was up .52%, trading at 1,372.98.
Disclosure: I have no ownership in shares of TSLA and have no plans to initiate any positions within 72 hours.
Lucid CEO Silvio Napoli responded to rumors of an imminent bankruptcy that was reportedly being mulled after a report stated the automaker was working with the firm AlixPartners to iron out its next steps.
The company felt a massive loss on Wall Street yesterday, as the report essentially pushed the stock down as much as 55 percent on Tuesday.
The report, published initially by Eletric-Vehicles.com, claimed Lucid was essentially in dire straits and was told by AlixPartners, a commonly used restructuring advisor, to either take shares private or file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Lucid’s head of Communications, Nick Twork, immediately challenged the report and stated the company “has sufficient liquidity to carry its operations well into next year.”
Now, the company’s CEO is chiming in as well, stating that the report is “so far from the facts that they require a direct response.”
Napoli said:
“Lucid is not considering bankruptcy or a transaction to take the company private. Those reports are false. The Board did not explore either scenario. Period.
As disclosed in our most recent quarterly filing, Lucid has sufficient liquidity to fund its operations well into next year.
We work with outside advisors to improve operational performance and execution. They are not advising Lucid on a take-private transaction or bankruptcy, and any suggestion that they have recommended either course of action to management or the Board is false.
My priority is clear: turn this company around. That is where the leadership team and I are focused.
I look forward to providing a full update during our quarterly earnings call on August 4th.”
🚨 Lucid CEO Silvio Napoli calls rumors of financial issues “so far from the facts that they require a direct response.”
Read his full remarks here: https://t.co/t3Pg1NHvzy pic.twitter.com/LvHUPhO4Qf
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 15, 2026
It seems pretty clear that Lucid is confident things will be okay, and, to be honest, they should not have much to worry about, especially considering the company has been backed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) for years. It has solid financial backing, and its sales, while weak, are pretty much right on par with a company of this age.
Lucid also sent a Cease & Desist letter to the publication for their report.
Lucid shares have rebounded nicely and are up nearly 21 percent at the time of publication. As soon as the company dispelled the rumors of bankruptcy yesterday, the stock began to climb back toward more reasonable levels.
Electric vehicle maker Lucid Group has denied rumors of an imminent bankruptcy after a report from this morning sent the stock on a dramatic drop on Wall Street, seeing losses of more than 40 percent during trading hours.
Lucid’s Director of Communications, Nick Twork, responded to the report from Eletric-Vehicles.com, which stated the company’s restructuring advisor, AlixPartners, was asked to review two decisions: taking Lucid shares private or filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The report also claims AlixPartners told the Lucid board to “concentrate on Gravity production while improving its quality, and to temporarily hold back the Lucid Air, the sedan that has defined the company since its launch.”
Twork said:
$LCID The rumors are completely false. The company has sufficient liquidity to carry its operations well into next year, as recently published in its last quarterly filings, and it has not formed any special Board committee to explore the scenarios reported today. Our focus is…
— Nick Twork (@ntwork) July 14, 2026
Shares rebounded after the response to the report, halving its losses as the trading day neared 3 p.m. Eastern.
Lucid has struggled to get its sales off the ground and into more respectable numbers, but the company is in its early years, when things are hard to begin with. It is also backed by several notable investors, including the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), which has nearly limitless money and likely would not ditch an investment of this size so soon.
Lucid shares were down just 14 percent at the time of publication, a far cry from the 55 percent its losses topped out at during the day.
Tesla received a price target upgrade just on the heels of what was a crazy successful quarter for its automotive business, as the company reported a delivery beat of over 15 percent for Q2.
Jefferies analysts are upping Tesla’s price target (NASDAQ: TSLA) to $400 from $375, while maintaining their “Hold” rating on shares, and the strong automotive deliveries from Q2 is a big reason. However, there are some other catalysts that Jefferies believes position Tesla for a strong position in the second half of the year.
Strong Deliveries
Tesla reported 480,000 deliveries for Q2, while Wall Street was between 395,000 and 405,000, as an overall consensus. It was an incredibly strong quarter from a delivery perspective, and Tesla sold well more than it produced during the three months.
Tesla crushes Wall Street expectations, beats delivery estimates by over 15 percent
While vehicle deliveries are not necessarily looked at in the light that they used to be, Tesla still maintains a lot of advantages for keeping deliveries strong. With the loss of the $7,500 EV Tax Credit last year, Tesla still maintains a strong demand case for its EVs.
Robotaxi Performance
Tesla has been operating Robotaxi for over a year now, as it launched in Austin in mid-2025. That program has expanded to Houston and Dallas, the San Francisco Bay Area, and, most recently, Miami, Florida, the suite’s first appearance in the Sunshine State.
While the Robotaxi suite is still in its early phases and Tesla is working through things like fleet size and wait times, the company has been able to undercut the pricing of its competitors and has a great safety record.
Merger Speculation with Tesla and SpaceX
This is perhaps the biggest topic that many are speaking about with Tesla and SpaceX, and it is the one thing that seems to be on the mind of every investor.
Jefferies warns that growing talk of a Tesla-SpaceX merger could cause Tesla stock to trade more like a SpaceX proxy, which may disconnect it from underlying automotive fundamentals. SpaceX has a lot going for it, especially its compute deals that have been widely publicized as of late.
Profitability in New Projects Could Take Some Time
Tesla has a few long-term ventures in the pipeline, most notably the Optimus project and Robotaxi, which is launched but will take several years to expand to a meaningful level that resonates with everyday people.
This is something that investors need to be careful of. Tesla’s projects could take some time to round out, so Jefferies advises that these may carry initial losses, rather than immediate profit. Seasoned Tesla investors have echoed something like this for a long time; they knew going in it would not be an open-and-shut strategy. It was going to take time.
These new projects are no different.
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