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- Tesla traded higher on Wednesday after Morgan Stanley upgraded the electric vehicle manufacturer to "Overweight" from "Equal-weight" for the first time since 2017.
- Morgan Stanley sees a budding opportunity in Tesla's high-margin software and services business, which it expects to represent up to 20% of total profits by 2030, according to the note.
- "To only value Tesla on car sales alone ignores the multiple businesses embedded within the company, and ignores the long term value creation arising from monetizing Tesla's core strengths," Morgan Stanley said.
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The upside potential in Tesla remains strong, according to a Wednesday note from Morgan Stanley.
For the first time since 2017, the firm turned bullish on the electric car maker, upgrading Tesla to "Overweight" from "Equal-weight" and assigning a $540 price target, representing potential upside of 22% from Tuesday's close.
In it's bull case scenario, Morgan Stanley assigned a price target of $1,068, representing potential upside of 142% from Tuesday's close.
A bulk of the upgrade in shares of Tesla is derived from Morgan Stanley's inclusion of Tesla services revenue into its valuation model. Morgan Stanley now expects Tesla's services business to represent 6% of revenue and 20% of profits by 2030.
Morgan Stanley sees Tesla benefiting from a knock-on effect, in which Tesla's first mover advantage in the electric vehicle space allows it to better scale and lower costs, which enables it to expand its user base, which then gives Tesla an opportunity to better capitalize on its software business with its growing user base.
The bank's key message to Tesla skeptics is that the electric car company should not be valued on vehicle sales alone.
"To only value Tesla on car sales alone ignores the multiple businesses embedded within the company, and ignores the long term value creation arising from monetizing Tesla's core strengths, driven by best in class software and ancillary services," the note said.
Morgan Stanley's sum of the parts analysis is divided into 6 distinct businesses, according to the note.
Tesla Auto: valued at $254/share, assuming 3.8 million annual unit sales by 2030.
Tesla Energy: includes both the solar and storage businesses, is valued as $12/share.
Tesla Insurance: a relatively new offering from the company, is valued at $15/share.
Tesla Mobility/Ride-sharing: a business that has not officially been launched yet, is valued at $38/share.
Tesla Network Services: includes software upgrades like Full Self Driving mode, is valued at $164/share.
Tesla as a 3rd party supplier: Supplying EV parts to other electric auto manufacturers is valued at $58/share.
"Tesla has long been seen as a sum of the parts story given its mix of businesses across a number of business lines spanning from transportation, solar power generation and energy storage," said Morgan Stanley.
Shares of Tesla traded up as much as 5% in Wednesday trades. Year-to-date, Tesla is up 428%.
Morgan Stanley Research
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