Tesla stock jumped on Wednesday after US lawmakers proposed expanding federal tax credits for EV vehicles. The move provides Elon Musk with a helping hand as he seeks to prevent lingering demand problems from ransacking the company’s forecast.
Shortly before the closing bell, TSLA shares traded at $277.15 for a session increase of 1.78%.
Tesla Stock Could Receive Huge Boost from EV Credits
Tesla stock jumped on the news that the EV industry could receive expanded subsidies. | Source: Yahoo Finance
Tesla might be well of its recent highs, but its share price continues to hold at the bottom of a long-term trading channel. It’s a pretty wide channel, but these have been trying times.
Elon Musk has faced legal troubles, there have been significant cutbacks, and demand appears to be slowing for cars. All this negativity could be turned on its head, however, if the proposed funding to support EV sales gains traction among lawmakers.
The timing of the EV credits expiration couldn’t have been worse for Tesla. At a time when they were trying to sell more affordable cars, they lost one of the chief factors that made the Model 3 affordable.
An EV credit expansion would certainly be bullish for Tesla, but investors should proceed with caution, remembering that electric car skeptic Donald Trump still sits in the White House. The president could target the proposals aggressively if he believes it’s a winning issue for his base.
Analysts Gush over Tesla Despite Recent Woes
Regardless, bargain-hunting analysts have also begun to shower Tesla with praise. One note that caught Wall Street’s eye today came from Instinet, who spoke glowingly of the electric automaker.
“Tesla is a true disruptor of the automotive industry, in our view. It forces legacy combustion engine behemoths to scramble to develop competing products without cannibalizing their cash flow machines—keeping them comfortably at a distinct disadvantage, similar to what Salesforce did when it pioneered the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) business model.”
There was even a comparison to tech leviathan Apple, as the firm gushed that Elon Musk could succeed in turning the company’s most significant weakness to its greatest strength.
“We see similarities to Apple’s disruption of the handset market (iPhone) and liken the Supercharger network and over-the-air (OTA) software updates to the iOS and iTunes ecosystem. The SaaS model will flip Tesla from customer service laggard to a leader, in our view.”
It’s surprising that Instinet isn’t holding a buy view (the firm retains a neutral rating) considering these glowing considerations. Nevertheless, there is clear potential for the stars to align for Tesla stock if Musk and company can reboot their struggling customer service and receive some significant assistance from Washington.