Written by Cláudio Afonso | info@claudio-afonso.com
Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry reiterated an Overweight rating and $1,500 price target on Tesla following his March 12th factory checks. The analyst had upgraded Tesla’s price target from $1,200 to $1,500 in January. In February, Chowdhry weighed in on Tesla after his latest round of factory checks. The analyst noted production, shipping, and delivery momentum is “extremely solid” and said delivery activity in 1Q2022 is much stronger than 4Q’2021.
Chowdhry proclaims delivery activity in the quarter is “monstrous”. He notes:
- Sequentially Model S Plaid ($130K Car) deliveries up about 15%;
- Model S Plaid has High-Margins;
- Increasingly seeing more Model Xs Plaid on the Shipping Truck.
On March 11th, AutoData Corp. reported that Tesla sold 42,742 vehicles in February in the US, representing an increase of 98% Year-over-Year. Year to date, Tesla sold 82,907 units in the country, up 79% from 2021. Meanwhile, Ford sold 2,096 EVs in February and 4,699 year to date.
Earlier today, Elon Musk warned on his twitter account for the “recent inflation pressure in raw materials & logistics” that is affecting Tesla and SpaceX. Musk also shared a Financial Times article mentioning that “raw materials costs on track to post biggest weekly rise since at least 1970”.
The recent Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is causing higher prices in many different sectors, from materials used on vehicles production but also on gas, housing and food. Also, and according to Reuters, two Ukraine companies (Ingas and Cryoinare) are responsible for half of the world’s semiconductor-grade neon, critical for the lasers used to make chips. Both of them recently shuttered their operations after Russia’s invasion.
Global commodity prices are on track for the biggest weekly rally in more than 50 years and Europe’s natural gas prices have hit a new record, as the war in Ukraine triggers “exceptional moves” in raw materials from oil to wheat. — Financial Times added.
Tesla was recently named the Best Overall Luxury Brand of the year by The Kelley Blue Book Awards, for the third consecutive year. The best overall brand was Honda due to its “impressive range of vehicles and terrific quality make it this year’s winner”. Toyota got the Best Truck Award for its “excellent reliability, capability, and resale value”. Check the winners here.
Written by Cláudio Afonso | info@claudio-afonso.com