Why This Tesla Analyst Thinks Model Y Production At Giga Austin Will Kickoff In A Week's Time

After Tesla, Inc. TSLA turned in stellar fourth-quarter deliveries on Sunday, the unanimous view among analysts is that capacity build and product refreshes, along with new product launches, are key for the EV maker's next leg of growth.

The Tesla Analyst: Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives has an Outperform rating and a $1,400 price target for Tesla shares, with the bull case price target at $1,800.

The Tesla Thesis: Paperwork is clearing for the Giga Austin to start producing Model Y vehicles over the next 7-10 days, analyst Ives said in a note, citing the firm's analysis.

The stamping machines for Model Y and testing is already in place and mostly completed, with paperwork now filed by Tesla to officially start key production in Austin over the next week, he added.

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Launching the Austin production site in early January, according to the analyst, is very important to Tesla expanding both domestic and global production of Model Ys. The vehicle model is likely to have a massive year in 2022, he added.

"We would expect a formal ribbon cutting ceremony over the coming weeks in Austin with Musk, which is becoming the centerpiece of Tesla's broader supply ambitions as well as its formal HQ buildout," Ives wrote in the note.

By the end of 2022, Tesla will have the capacity for about 2 million units annually from roughly 1 million now, the analyst said.

While Austin has a clear path to launching its key flagship US factory over the next week, Berlin still has some final red-tape bureaucratic issues to resolve before the launch begins in the January/ February timeframe, he added.

Tesla Price Action: Tesla shares closed Friday's session down 3.54% at $1,026.96.

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