& # 39; We're struggling to see it being sold & # 39;
Tesla CEO Elon Musk attends Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory's groundbreaking ceremony in Shanghai, China, January 7, 2019.
Aly Song | Reuters
It seems less and less likely that Tesla will find a buyer to save it from its financial struggle and offer it a source of new funding, Bernstein told clients Monday.
European car analyst Max Warburton wrote in a note that while Volkswagen's CEO may take a look, there would really not be much support for a bid to buy some of Tesla's assets.
Tesla no longer has a truly differentiated technology. The production plant is underpar. Gigafactory is probably not important (and can be asserted by Panasonic), "wrote Warburton." The mark still has value, albeit one that falls quickly. The Supercharger network also has some value. Maybe these are picked up. But at what price? "
" We're struggling to see it being sold as a business, "he added.
Tesla spent about $ 950 million in cash in the first quarter (for a total of $ 5 billion of cash burn since 201[ads1]7), which has renewed concern over its long-term financial health, and a few weeks ago, Tesla managed to raise $ 2.35 billion of new capital, with $ 750 million shares and $ 1.6 billion from convertible bonds. has suggested that another technology company, such as Apple, could throw in and buy Tesla when its assets are cheaper.
Roth Capital Partners analyst Craig Irwin told CNBC last month that the electric car company could have sold to Apple six years ago at $ 240 per share The stock is down 48% over the past six months at $ 185.16 per share.
Although Warburton is not Bernstein's Tesla analyst, he covers a number of auto companies in Europe, which may be for one pop if Tesla fails The Alto car manufacturer has put a lot of pressure on the valuations of traditional equipment manufacturers in Europe, as Tesla's original success suggested that the barrier to entry into the electric vehicle market was not as tough as once thought.
Tesla's market share from the German OEMs in the US, UK and some other regions, says Warburton.
But "Tesla's economic failure would force a change in investors' view of traditional OEMs. It will show how difficult it is for a new entrant to succeed," he added. "Essential: it would change the view of the size and growth rate of the EV market."
Bernstein's main analyst Tesla, Toni Sacconaghi, has market weight on Tesla.
