Morgan Stanley: Get Ready For A Tesla Pickup Truck!

Morgan Stanley lead auto analyst Adam Jonas published a research note on Thursday about what he calls the "world's most important car company" - Tesla.

There's plenty the meat of the note, which is mainly about the forthcoming Model X SUV, and I'll get to it all in a follow-up post.

But check this out! According to Jonas, "While not explicitly modeled in our earnings forecasts at this time, we see potential for Model X volume (and related derivatives, including an electric pickup truck) to be significantly higher than the Model S."

An electric pickup truck! Who in the world would want to buy an electric pickup truck? While there are many, many Tesla Model S sedans in Silicon Valley, there are exactly ZERO pickup trucks.

Okay, that's not right, there are certainly a fair number of pickups in the Bay Area. But if Tesla has any aspirations to sell pickup trucks, Elon Musk's company will be taking on a segment of the U.S. auto market that has been utterly and completely owned by the Detroit Big Three - General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler - for decades.

That doesn't mean Tesla won't succeed with a pickup. In fact, if Jonas is right, and Tesla produce an electric pickup that's captivates the truck buyers - it would one of the biggest stories in the history of the auto industry.