Is Tesla A Good Investment For 2016?

With oil and gas prices on the decline, the excitement around electric cars has somewhat died down. However, for investors, companies like Tesla Motors Inc TSLA that are working to create innovative new automobiles are still all the rage.

In 2015, Tesla's performance was subpar, with the company's share price losing more than 10 percent over the past six months. Despite that, many believe Tesla could be a good bet for 2016, as the firm will have several potential catalysts in the coming year.

New Car

Tesla revealed its latest car earlier this year, the Model X. The Model X is an electric SUV and marks the company's first new vehicle release since 2012.

Not only will the new car give Tesla renewed attention in the marketplace, but by designing an SUV, the company has expanded its reach to a new customer base.

Related Link: Trip Chowdhry: Tesla May Have Delivered At Least 300 Model Xs

New Infrastructure

Tesla has also been spending a large amount on capital infrastructure, something that analysts expect could pay off in the coming year.

All in all, the automaker planned to spend $1.7 billion this year on the manufacturing and development of its vehicles, but most importantly on the Gigafactory, a lithium-ion battery factory that is slated to become operational in 2016 or 2017. The factory is expected to bring down the cost of Tesla batteries by around 30 percent, an important part of the firm's long-term strategy.

Impressive Deliveries

Tesla has been aggressive in its forecast for vehicle deliveries, saying that it plans to deliver 500,000 vehicles per year by 2020. While that is an ambitious figure, a note from Trip Chowdhry at Global Equities Research said the company has probably already exceeded its guidance of 17,000 to 19,000 deliveries in the three months from October to December. Chowdhry said that the company had probably already delivered more than 18,300 cars since September 30.