Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) is a hot topic on Wall Street today as the longs take on the shorts. As of this writing, it was down 6 percent today as investors began to question how high is too high.
Taking the short view of Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), Intrepid Capital Management’s Mark Travis faced off with Daugherty & Co.’s Andrea James, who now says Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) could be a $300 stock. Meanwhile, Travis says he’s got some swampland he wants to sell her.
The Short Case For Tesla Motors
Travis drew some parallels with the tech bubble which burst in early 2000. He said with a third of the shares of Tesla sold short, it doesn’t take much activity for investors to decide to cover, so he believes the current rally is due to short covering.
“This may be one of the greatest short cover rallies of all time,” he said.
The Long Case For Tesla Motors
According to James, the only thing that has changed about Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) in recent months is “how quickly people are getting it.” She said that in 2010 and 2011, the company’s stock was trading at what it could do in the future, so today’s stock price makes sense and could go even higher.
“So it’s trading on potential earnings,” James said. “If they max out the factory, at 500,000 vehicles a year, it’s a $300 stock.”
Trading Jabs Over Tesla
She urged Travis to drive Tesla’s car, but he insisted that he’s right to short Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA).
“You’ve got a business that lost twice as much money as it did four years ago on an operating basis, over $300 million, and it has two and a half times as many shares,” Travis said. “I’m going to be able to wallpaper my new bathroom with shares of Tesla at the rate we’re going.”
James went on to compare Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) to Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), which also lost money in the beginning but now is one of the hottest companies on the market.
The entertaining bickering between the two could probably have gone on all day, but sadly, the producer must have told Mary Lou to wrap it up because they had to cut the argument off.
