Will Tesla Lead The Auto Industry To Shared Mobility?

In a report published Monday, Morgan Stanley's Adam Jones raised his price target for Tesla Motors TSLA from $280 to $465. He believes that Tesla's recent spending habits indicate that the California company is aggressively developing autopilot technology that could help it pave the way for an automated, shared mobility model of driving that could disrupt the auto industry and solve many of its inefficiencies. "The human-driven, privately-owned, internal combustion [vehicle]" will soon be a thing of the past, Jones suggested. And Tesla, thinks, will be the one to put it there. We spoke with Stifel analyst James Albertine to get his thoughts on the company. Asset Utilization Albertine highlighted problems of low asset utilization within the automotive sector that he says exist worldwide -- cars spend too much time sitting in lots instead of on the road. According to him, it is still unclear whether a single firm will lead the charge to combat this problem or whether it will be a more collective effort. However, Albertine did say that Tesla is "uniquely positioned" to help address the inefficiencies within the auto industry, "given that it's not entrenched...in any one set of methods or supplier relationships." While Albertine doesn't necessarily think Tesla will single-handedly move the sector toward shared mobility, he does think that there is a substantial chance that the electric car maker "is a key participant in helping to achieve the utopian ideal of shared mobility globally. I think they're as well positioned, if not better positioned, than most." Albertine current has a Buy rating on Tesla and a $400 price target. The company's shares are trading up more than 5 percent to above $250 today following Jones' bullish report.