Tesla Has Entered An 'Era Of Rising Transparency,' Notes Pacific Crest

recently pre-announced its first quarter deliveries, announcing it delivered 10,030 vehicles in the quarter, topping the company's guidance of 9,500 deliveries. The company also noted that it will begin releasing delivery data within three days of the quarter end. In a report published Sunday, Pacific Crest analyst Brad Erickson commented that Tesla begins an "era of rising transparency" with its deliveries announcement and that increasing transparency is "usually a good sign." "Sustainability of demand remains a key tenet of the bear thesis on Tesla," Erickson wrote. "Disclosing end-of-quarter deliveries from now on shows management's confidence in the sustainability of demand, in our view." Erickson continued that Tesla's gross margin performance is expected to be "solid" with an estimated 26 percent automotive gross margin given the "right-sized" production levels and "slight out-performance" on the delivery front based on the pre-announcement. Shares of Tesla remain Outperform rated with an unchanged $293 price target.