A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Master Degree in Economics /
Finance / Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics.
TESLA INC. EQUITY RESEARCH A TECH COMPANY SELLING CARS
MAXIME HOZE - 41397
A Project carried out on the Master in Finance Program, under the supervision of:
Nuno Vasconcelos e Sá
04.01.2021
Abstract
Tesla’s market capitalization of $669bn as of 2. Jan. 2021 is disconnected from reality and can in our view not be justified by fundamental analysis. The 52-week share price range of $70,10-$718,71 implies a story-driven valuation that has given Tesla’s share price the momentum to reach unprecedented heights. Independent of the current market valuation of Tesla we see the company with great potential for growth and innovation, as it expands its production facilities towards Europe and China and has promising developments in breakthrough battery technologies, which will permit it to keep its competitive advantages and establish itself as the continued market leader in the battery electric vehicle (BEV) market and an important player in the energy generation & storage market in the future. Having almost reached the milestone of 500.000 delivered vehicles in 2020 and with ambitious expansion projects underway, we estimate that Tesla could reach close to 2 million vehicle deliveries in 2025 and 3,7 million in 2035. We reach a price target for FY21 of $160,70 through the APV valuation method and weighing three possible outcome scenarios that are detailed in the report.
Keywords (up to four) Equity Research – Automotive Sector – Electric Vehicle – Energy Sector
This work used infrastructure and resources funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (UID/ECO/00124/2013, UID/ECO/00124/2019 and Social Sciences DataLab, Project 22209), POR Lisboa (LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-007722 and Social Sciences DataLab, Project 22209) and POR Norte (Social Sciences DataLab, Project 22209).
This report is part of the Tesla Inc. Equity Research: 2020-2021_Fall_41397_Maxime_Hoze (annexed) and should be read as an integral part of it.
MASTER IN FINANCE
“TESLA INC.”
COMPANY REPORT
JANUARY 4TH 2021
“A UTOMOTIVE & T ECH SECTORS ”
[email protected] [email protected]
STUDENTS: “MAXIME HOZE; PATRICIO DREXHAGEN”
Recommendation: Price Target FY21:
SELL
A Tech Company Selling Cars
“A story driven valuation”
160.70$
- 705.67 $
- Price (as of 3-Jan-21)
Reuters: TSLA. OQ, Bloomberg: TSLA
§
Tesla’s market capitalization of $669bn as of 2. Jan.
2021 is disconnected from reality and can in our view not be justified by fundamental analysis. The 52-week share price range of $70,10-$718,71 implies a story-driven valuation that has given Tesla’s share price the momentum to reach unprecedented heights.
- 52-week range (€)
- 718.72-70.10
668,905
947.9
Market Cap (€m) Outstanding Shares (m) Credit Rating (S&P, Moody’s) ESG Rating (MSCI)
BB-, B2
A
Source: Capital IQ, Moody’s, MSCI
§
Independent of the current market valuation of Tesla we
5Y Price Index (base 100= Jan 16)
see the company with great potential for growth and innovation, as it expands its production facilities towards Europe and China and has promising developments in breakthrough battery technologies, which will permit it to keep its competitive advantages and establish itself as the continued market leader in the battery electric vehicle (BEV) market and an important player in the energy generation & storage market in the future.
2 000 1 800 1 600 1 400 1 200 1 000
800 600 400 200
0
250 200 150 100 50 0
- Tesla (left axis)
- S&P 500 (right axis)
Source: Yahoo Finance
§
Having almost reached the milestone of 500.000
(Values in € millions) Revenues
- 2019
- 2020E
32,198
2021F 40,436 6,225
24,578 2,235 -862
delivered vehicles in 2020 and with ambitious expansion projects underway, we estimate that Tesla could reach close to 2 million vehicle deliveries in 2025 and 3,7 million in 2035. We reach a price target for FY21 of $160,70 through the APV valuation method and weighing three possible outcome scenarios that are detailed in the report.
- EBITDA
- 4,544
- 955
- Net Income
- 1,699
Source: Tesla 2019 Annual Report, Own Estimate
Brief Company description
Tesla was founded and established in Palo Alto, California in 2003. Its automotive segment offer includes an expanding range of models and its energy generation & storage division sells energy storage systems as well as photovoltaic energy generation products for retail, industrial and commercial use.
THIS REPORT WAS PREPARED EXCLUSIVELY FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES BY MAXIME HOZE AND PATRICIO DREXHAGEN, MASTER IN
FINANCE STUDENTS OF THE NOVA SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS. THE REPORT WAS SUPERVISED BY A NOVA SBE FACULTY
MEMBER, ACTING IN A MERE ACADEMIC CAPACITY, WHO REVIEWED THE VALUATION METHODOLOGY AND THE FINANCIAL MODEL.
(PLEASE REFER TO THE DISCLOSURES AND DISCLAIMERS AT END OF THE DOCUMENT)
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“TESLA INC”
COMPANY REPORT
Table of Contents
1. 2.
Company Description.................................................................................................................................................................................................. 3 Shareholder Structure ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 3
Investor Base, Who Owns Tesla’s Equity?........................................................................................................................................................................ 3 Similarities with Tech Sector ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 4 Changes within Institutional Investors Base..................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Automotive Industry ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Main Challenges for EVs................................................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Supercharger Network ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7 Battery Ranges ................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 8
Manufacturing costs & Battery progresses................................................................................................................................................................ 9
Regional markets and policies........................................................................................................................................................................................ 10 New entrants to electric mobility................................................................................................................................................................................... 12 Traditional car manufacturers........................................................................................................................................................................................ 12 New Entrants.................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 12
Solar & Energy Storage ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 13
SolarCity Overview ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 13 Market Outlook & Forecasts .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 14
ESG Performance ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 15
Environmental Performance and Concerns ................................................................................................................................................................... 16 Energy Sourcing for Manufacturing ............................................................................................................................................................................... 17 Social Performance......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 17 Raw Material Sourcing ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 18 Governance Performance .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 18 Cybersecurity.................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 19 Shareholders & Regulatory Controversies ..................................................................................................................................................................... 19 ESG Performance Results ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 20
Valuation.................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 21
Scenario Analysis............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 21 Base Case........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 21 Best Case ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 22 Worst Case ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 22 Selected Income Statement & Balance Sheet Items ...................................................................................................................................................... 23 Revenues ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 23 Expenses......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 24
Other Financial Forecasts......................................................................................................................................................................................... 24 Debt and Cost of Financing (External Funding + WACC) .......................................................................................................................................... 25
Valuation Results............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 26 APV ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 26 DCF ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 27
Multiples Analysis .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 27
Final Remarks ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 28 Appendix .................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 30
a. b. c.
3.
a. i. ii. iii. b. c. i. ii.
4. 5.
a. b.
a. i. b. i. c. i. ii. d.
6.
a. i. i. ii. b. i. ii. iii. iv. c. i. ii. iii.
7. 8.
Report Recommendations.............................................................................................................................................................................................. 33
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“TESLA INC”
COMPANY REPORT
1. Company Description
Tesla Inc, (formerly known as “Tesla Motors” until 2017) founded in 2003 and headquartered in Palo Alto, California designs, develops, manufactures, leases and sells electric vehicles, energy storage and generators internationally. The company was founded with the mission of accelerating the world’s transition to sustainable energy1. As of Q3 2020, 86% of its total revenues is generated from electric vehicle sales and leasing2, yet, given its location in Sillicon Valley, the essential part of softwares as part of its cars’ operating systems and its leveraging of data (to date more than 4 billion miles in Tesla Model 3s data have been collected) to power innovation (both in EVs and energy storage & generation offering) we recognize it cannot be compared and cosidered only as a car manufacturer as we traditionaly understands it, but also as a tech company competing in the automotive sector, this classification will have its importance when selecting the peers for our comps analysis and influence the equity valuation. At the end of September 2020, Tesla is the world largest BEV producers, having delivered 319,980 units year to date, the Tesla Model 3 being the most sold BEV globally totalling 280,861 deliveries by the end of Q3 20203. Its automotive segment directly sells to customers via company owned stores and its website: premium sedans and SUVs. The company is diversifying its offer by offering a sportscar, a truck and a semi on pre-orders. By the end of 2020 Tesla will also provide in-house car servicing, electric powertrains components and systems. The energy generation and storage segment offers lithium-ion battery systems for homes, industrial and commercial facilities. It also designs, sells, leases, installs and maintains solar energy generation and storage products available to retail and commercial customers. Tesla is a publicly traded company on Nasdaq (2010) and the S&P 500 (Dec, 2020). Co-founder, CEO & Director Elon Musk leads the company since inception.
“Tesla is not really a car company, it’s a tech company on wheels.”
Jim Cramer on CNBC, 2020
- Scenario
- Target Price Probability
in USD
Base-Case Scenario Best-Case Scenario Worst-Case Scenario
Weighted Target Price
149,30 240,56
80,77
80% 20% 10%
160,7
Fig. 1 Target price by scenario Source: Own estimations
13%
Model S/X Model 3/Y
Source: Company (2020)
87%
Fig. 2 Deliveries Breakdown (Last 4 quarters rolling Source: Tesla 2019 Annual Report; own illustration
700 000 600 000 500 000 400 000 300 000 200 000 100 000
0
- 2016
- 2017
- 2018
- 2019
- 2020E 2021E
Fig. 3 Car units sold. Source: TSLA 2019 Annual Report, own forecast
2. Shareholder Structure
a. Investor Base, Who Owns Tesla’s Equity?
Fig. 4 Investor Base breakdown Source: Public data, Capital IQ
1 Tesla, Elon Musk, Retrieved from: https://www.tesla.com/elon-musk
2 Tesla (2020), 10Q Form 3rd Quarter 2020, Retrieved from:
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data//1318605/000156459020047486/tsla-10q_20200930.html
3 Tesla (2020), Tesla Q3 2020 Vehicle Production & Deliveries, Retrieved from: https://ir.tesla.com/press-release/tesla-q3-2020-
vehicle-production-deliveries
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“TESLA INC”
COMPANY REPORT
Tesla’s investors base as of Q3 2020 is balanced between institutional investors (46.76%), General Public (33.37%) and Insiders/individuals (19.84%). The institutional investor base is largely composed of so-called “Traditional Investment Managers”, (asset managers, mutual and pension funds), Banks and Hedge Funds which respectively account for around 80%, 13% and 5% of all institutional investors. Notable institutional owners with a share higher than 3% of total shares outstanding are: Capital Research and Management Company (5.67%), Vanguard (4.67%), Citadel Securities (4.05%), BlackRock (4.01%) and Baillie Gifford (3.66%). Lastly, two board members/insiders own more than 1% of the total shares outstanding: the CEO Elon Musk (17.99%) and Larry Ellison (1.59%). Knowing that Musk owns around 18% of total shares outstanding and that a significant portion of it is used as personal debt collateral4 represents a significant risk for the equity valuation of the company if he was to sell them quickly at a given point.
Fig. 5 Institutional investor base breakdown; Source: Public data, Capital IQ
b. Similarities with Tech Sector
We observed that Tesla’s investors base is much closer to the one of tech giants such as Amazon, Facebook and Alphabet, than the one of traditional car makers to which Tesla’s market capitalization is often compared to such as Volkswagen, Daimler, Renault, or Toyota. Indeed, unlike these market players that have been in the industry for several decades whose typical investor base includes significant ownership from corporates, a wider share of general public/retail investors as well as state ownership especially for European generalists (VW, Renault); Tesla on the other hand, similarly to the previously mentioned tech giants doesn’t have any state owned shares nor ownership from other corporates and sees insiders
Fig. 6 Facebook's investor base breakdown; Source: Public data, Capital IQ
- keeping
- a
- significant of the shares outstanding (higher than 10%).
This certainly has to do with the stock characteristic of these two distinct groups (tech vs auto); historic car manufacturers have always been considered as value stocks, companies with rather stable cash flows, traditionally paying stable dividends, companies well known by the general public and perceived which tend to be undervalued as opposed to growth stocks in the likes of tech companies which have been in existence for fewer years yet active in sectors with a high growth rate. These companies typically pay small to no dividend at all since they are still very young and it takes them time to scale and to be able to see a return on their internal investment which explains why many tech companies took years to be profitable and as a consequence did not pay any dividends at all (e.g.