Wedbush Claims Tesla In “Clear Position Of Strength”, Raises PT To $1,400

In case you were wondering whether or not Dan Ives takes a week off occasionally from thinking super hard about which astronomical number he’ll use for a Tesla price target next, it doesn’t appear that he does. 

Ives just couldn’t wait to release his latest thoughts on the EV manufacturer until 2022 and put out a note this morning stating that Tesla is in a “clear position of strength” with three catalysts that will act as tailwinds heading into 2022. 

Ives writes that China is “key” for the bull thesis in 2022, according to Bloomberg this morning. He says it’s worth $400 per share in the upcoming year. Interestingly enough, there have been questions raised about Tesla suing its critics in China, which we reported on just weeks ago. 

Things must be going great in the country since it was reported that Tesla has filed “defamation claims against at least two Chinese citizens who raised concerns about the safety and quality of its vehicles.” The original Bloomberg report suggests that the legal threats are “part of a wide-ranging effort” to try and win back a positive image in China, though we’re not sure this is the way to do it. 

The company is also threatening online influencers in China, the report says. 

Regardless, let’s make sure we remember that very same $400 per share “worth” that Ives points out, should China’s grapes start to sour in the new year.

He also wrote that China is expected to represent 40% of deliveries for Tesla in the new year, despite the continued headwind of a chip/component shortage, which he called a “transitory” issue. 

Among the list of catalysts for 2022 are factory openings in Berlin and Austin, and the 1.4 million to 1.5 million units they will be capable of producing in 2022, Ives writes. He also cites growing demand in Europe. 

Tesla opened the week up 2.5% yesterday, rising to $1093 per share on hopes that CEO Elon Musk is finished selling his $10 billion+ tranche of shares he said he would sell as the result of a Twitter poll he created about a month and a half ago.

Just another day in the Tesla saga…