Elon Musk is giving Tesla shareholders reason for bullishness after his big Twitter announcement
Good morning, readers. I'm senior reporter Phil Rosen. If you didn't see Friday, Elon Musk has named the former NBC exec Linda Yaccarino as Twitter's new CEO.
And with Musk announcing he'll take on the role of chief technology officer for the social media platform, some strategists say it'll allow him to put more attention toward Tesla — something shareholders have been begging him for since he first made his bid for Twitter.
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1. Tesla shareholders cheered immediately after Musk on Thursday said he'd step down as Twitter CEO, with shares climbing in after-hours trading and in pre-market hours on Friday.
Indeed, Wedbush managing director Dan Ives said it's great news for Musk's Tesla as well as SpaceX, since his earlier-than-expected departure will grant him the necessary time with his "golden child" companies instead.
"With the tweet [Thursday] afternoon, Musk's reign as CEO of Twitter has finally come to an end and thus will be a positive for Tesla's stock, starting to finally remove this lingering albatross from the story," Ives said.
Wedbush maintained its outperform rating for Tesla, and shared a 12-month price target of $215, or about 27% higher than the current share price.
But Gene Munster cautioned that this development may only be somewhat good for Tesla, since Musk stepping back from Twitter also opens him up for other non-Tesla projects, like his new startup X.AI.
In other words, it's good news for Musk, but that doesn't explicitly mean good news for Tesla, the Deepwater managing partner said Friday, especially given the billionaire's potential interest in competing with OpenAI's ChatGPT.
In any case, there's reasons beyond Twitter happenings that Tesla bulls can cheer.
The long wait times for vehicles, according to Piper Sandler, is a bullish sign because it means demand is robust.
Tesla's website shows American buyers must now wait between three and 12 weeks for the Model Y car, up from zero to three weeks.
It may feel annoying for customers, but the details should be taken in stride for shareholders.
"In recent weeks, investors have been asking us why wait times haven't responded more noticeably to Tesla's price cutting campaign," analyst Alexander Potter wrote in a note. "The answer is complex, because wait times don't solely reflect consumers' appetite for buying Teslas vs. other cars."
In effect, the lengthy wait times should be "interpreted favorably," in Potter's view.
Piper Sandler's price target for Tesla is $280 a share, or more than 65% higher from current levels.
What's your price target for Tesla by the end of 2023? Tweet me (@philrosenn) or email me (prosen@insider.com) to let me know.
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Curated by Phil Rosen in New York. Feedback or tips? Tweet @philrosenn or email prosen@insider.com.
Edited by Max Adams (@maxradams) in New York and Hallam Bullock (@hallam_bullock) in London.