Tesla Is To Vehicles What Apple Was To Cell Phones, According To This Analyst

The Apple Inc. AAPL iPhone has been one of the most successful products of all time and has created some huge returns for Apple investors over the past decade. According to one analyst, Tesla Inc TSLA may be on the brink of following in Apple’s footsteps.

The Analyst

Nomura analyst Romit Shah.

The Rating

Nomura maintains a Buy rating and $500 price target for Tesla.

The Thesis

Shah said consumers have major passion for Tesla’s brand, similar to the type of loyalty Apple has inspired in its customers. If anything, Tesla’s branding is even more impressive that Apple’s given the fact that the vast majority of Tesla fans have never even owned a Tesla product.

Shah said the iPhone was such a huge success because it was the best product on the market during the secular shift from PCs to smartphones.

“Similarly, we believe there is a secular shift today from internal combustion engines (ICEs) to electric vehicles and we thing Tesla has the best product,” Shah said.

He said the only thing standing in Tesla’s way is the process of scaling up its business and overcoming any operational roadblocks that may occur along the way. Beyond that, Shah said Tesla’s products position the company for unprecedented long-term revenue growth.

Price Action

Tesla stock has taken a beating since the launch of the Model 3. Tesla has missed its early Model 3 production targets, leaving some investors concerned about future targets as well. Tesla stock is down 17.6 percent in the past three months.

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