Why Tesla's Q1 Earnings May Not Matter

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Many investors are eager for Tesla Motors Inc TSLA to report its first quarter results, but the report might not matter now that the Powerwall has been announced.

Powerwall is the automaker's long-awaited home battery. In time, it might just change the way consumers and businesses power their homes and offices.

"The battery deal was the thing I've been waiting for them to do," Sean Udall, CIO of Quantum Trading Strategies and author of The TechStrat Report, told Benzinga. "I think that is a genius idea. I think they're gonna nail it."

Tesla will charge installers $3,000 for the 7kWh version and $3,500 for the 10kWh iteration. That price does not include the inverter or installation, so it's unclear how much consumers will actually pay when the batteries start to ship later this summer.

"Will the installer just charge labor or labor plus markup? It's gonna be demand-driven," said Udall. "It's like the price of a new muscle car when the Challenger was coming off the line."

If demand is high enough, Udall thinks the installer could charge a hefty premium. He assumes that will not happen.

Related Link: 5 New Tesla Products Coming In The Next 5 Years

No Competition

Udall said that he has heard others express concern about potential competitors, but he can't find any.

"If Tesla brings it out and it works to any degree they say it's going to, they don't have any competition!" he said. "This is a home run product. As far as earnings report, I don't even know if it's gonna matter a whole lot."

Udall doesn't currently own any shares in Tesla. He said that he has had "pretty good luck" on some call spreads a couple times this year, but he might finally go long if the stock continues to drop.

"I am really hoping for just one more big drop in the stock," he continued. "Because this is the thing that gets me interested in being a Tesla long. I can't go big in it because it doesn't really fit my discipline -- my valuation, parameters and things like that."

Disclosure: At the time of this writing, Louis Bedigian had no position in the equities mentioned in this report.

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Posted In: Top StoriesExclusivesTechhome batteryPowerwallSean Udall
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