Billionaire investor Ron Baron says Tesla stock has bottomed out and will 'go up huge' on the promise of more affordable vehicles
Billionaire investor Ron Baron told CNBC that Tesla is "going to go up huge."
The stock has reached bottom after investors were unsure if the firm was scrapping plans for a low-cost model.
Baron sees all cars being EVs in 10 to 15 years, and cited Tesla's cost efficiency compared to rivals.
Tesla's stock has reached a positive inflection point and will leave recent lows in the dust now that the company is giving investors what they want, according to billionaire investor Ron Baron.
"Oh, it's going to go up huge," he told CNBC on Wednesday. "Now is the bottom."
So far this year, Tesla shares have crashed more than 34%, driven downwards by a first-quarter delivery slag, reports of a pivot towards robotaxis, and a string of leadership controversies.
But to the Baron Capital founder, eroding sentiment had less to do with how the electric vehicle maker performed, but whether CEO Elon Musk was still committed to coming through on promised projects.
"When I think about the reasons the stock is down, it's because people were concerned that he was going to abandon the idea of having a low-cost car and go all into robotaxis," Baron said.
Doubts first crept in after a Reuters article announced that Tesla was scrapping such plans, a report Musk then went on to deny.
But now, the company's recent earnings call made clear that it would accelerate production of a more affordable model, and would also unveil its robotaxi later this year. Baron expects the firm to make 5 million of the new low-cost vehicle.
He also cited that Tesla could make a profit by eventually selling its full-self driving technology to other carmakers.
While Tesla's earnings also showed a 9% slump in first-quarter revenue, its stock has jumped close to 18% since then.
Before Tuesday's results were published, some analysts have cited long-term burdens that will continue weighing on the company, including an EV recession and rising competition, whether domestically or in offshore markets.
But Baron doubled down that Tesla continues to have a lead, pointing out the firm's cost efficiency. In his view, all cars will also be electric in 10 to 15 years, and hybrids — popular among rivals — won't last.
Meanwhile, China's rising BYD competitor is the only profitable firm in the country, he said, and still does not make as much as Tesla.
Tesla is the biggest holding in the Baron Partners Fund, CNBC said. Previously, Baron disclosed that he has made nearly 20 times its Tesla investment since buying the stock a decade prior.
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