By Sam Boughedda
Piper Sandler analyst Alexander Potter reiterated an Overweight rating and $1,035 price target on Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) in a note Wednesday, telling investors the threat of competition from old-school auto companies is overstated.
"In our years of covering TSLA, investors have always focused heavily on the threat of competition from old-school auto companies. While understandable, we think this risk is overstated," wrote Potter. "After all, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) once competed primarily against booksellers and desktop PC manufacturers - but obviously, these companies had broader ambitions."
The analyst said Piper Sandler believes the same will be true of Tesla. However, he acknowledged that while Tesla's dominance may one day extend far beyond the auto industry, the "car market will never be a monopoly."
Potter believes the industry will see at least a few non-Tesla brands finding long-term success, naming VW, Mercedes, and Toyota as possible winners.