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“ ‘Tesla’s story is going to evolve in the months and years to come. Specifically, they’re not going to be a car company. They’re going to take their tech that they’re defining and pioneering with auto and applying it to their own markets.’ ”
That’s the rationale Gene Munster, co-founder and managing partner at Loup Ventures, gave CNBC in an interview Monday when asked about where Tesla TSLA, +7.13% is headed from here.
His target: $2,500 within three years. Such a rally in the stock would bring Tesla’s valuation above $2 trillion, joining Apple AAPL, +1.23%, at this point, as the only other company in that lofty realm.
Interestingly, Munster says Apple is the only company that could get in the way of his bullish outlook. “Whatever their ambitions are in vehicles — I mean, it’s been really quiet there, I’m not expecting anything in the near term — but that, as a Tesla investor, that would be the one announcement that would cause me to step back and rethink things.”
As far as rivals in the traditional auto industry, like General Motors GM and Volkswagen XE:VOW , he says that “ship has sailed” and that “really there’s no substance competition.”
Read: A shortage of short shorts leaves Tesla fans frustrated
What’s more, according to Munster, Tesla’s real value going forward may be tied to its move away from being just a car company, including a push into the insurance industry.
“Elon has recently said that 30% to 40% of the value of the car could be in insurance,” the Wall Street vet went on to explain. “What that means is that they can start offering their own insurance and improve margins. That’s high-margin revenue.”
Munster then threw flying taxis into the mix.
“I would not invest in Tesla based on that, but the concept that this company is going to continue to evolve and be a tech leader in the next decade, I’m on board with that,” he said.
Watch the interview:
Meanwhile. Tesla’s stock just keeps charging higher, having hit a record high of $648.79 in Monday’s session, even as the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.49% and S&P 500 SPX, -0.19% moved lower. The Nasdaq Composite COMP, +0.45% managed to break into the green.
