| Owuraka Koney forms part of an elite group on Wall Street: those who foresaw Tesla’s wild growth potential before it even went public.
Mr Koney thinks by 2026, Tesla could be pumping out twice the 2 million or so cars it is expected to deliver this year. That will set it up for further growth, even as dreamy notions of fully self-driving cars remain years away.“They are mostly a car company today,” Mr Koney said. “That’s what drives the majority of their revenue. A few years from now that will still be the case.”
Mr Koney came away bullish, but Tesla still faced a lot of risks. He kept a close watch on the company as it gained a stronger footing. In April 2010, the car maker received a low-interest $US465 million loan from the US Department of Energy – a lifeline as it was creating the Model S. A month later, Tesla bought a closed factory once owned by a joint venture between General Motors and Toyota. That June, Tesla went public at $US17 a share, valuing the company at about $US1.7 billion.
In 2016, Tesla wanted to acquire SolarCity, a rooftop solar-panel installer run by Mr Musk’s cousins. Some investors balked: Tesla was in the throes of working on the Model 3, its first mass-market car, and the deal seemed ill-timed. Early 2019 was equally rough: Tesla closed stores and missed delivery targets, and Mr Ahuja left. But Mr Koney saw the second quarter of the year as a turning point: Tesla became cash-flow positive, proving it could build the Model 3 and make money. It is still the only US company with a profitable EV business.Tesla is not immune to risks. The company itself says it is highly dependent on Mr Musk, who is also the CEO of Space Exploration Technologies.