Morgan Stanley On Tesla: 'Whoa'

"Not even two years after the delivery of the first Model S, Tesla Motors has transformed from fledgling start-up to arguably the most important car company in the world. We are not joking."

He groups a series of amusing anecdotes into three sections about how the auto world can't stop talking about the California-based electric carmaker.

First there was the recent two-hour dinner Jonas had with the CTO a global parts mega-supplier. Half the meal was spent discussing how no one is doing what Tesla is doing to advance electrification, and how suppliers are considering devoting new lines and facilities to make parts for the company.

Next are all the state governments clawing over themselves to land one of Tesla's gigafactories, which could even someday end up moving the needle on U.S. GDP itself. Jonas said Tesla could wind up employing 20,000 employees directly and supporting up to 150,000 other jobs upstream and downstream.

And finally, there's what the traditional automakers are saying, talk that has caused Jonas to go full Keanu.

"General Motors last year established its 'Team Tesla' to advance the development of long range EVs. A BMW engineer recently explained to us how Tesla's presence has helped reinvigorate the spirit of automobile innovation that was beginning to run stale, further testifying that BMW will be a stronger company longer term because Tesla is around. Whoa."

Jonas has a $320 price target on the stock. Shares were trading at $233.