Billionaire investor Ron Baron, who is a notorious Tesla (TSLA) bull and shareholder, says the electric vehicle maker’s market capitalization could reach $5 trillion within the next decade.
Appearing on CNBC, Baron said, “Tesla, I think, is going to be worth $5 trillion in 10 years, based upon the business plan that I am aware of.” He added that he believes Tesla CEO Elon Musk has even more ambitious goals in mind and wants to make the automaker a $30 trillion company.
Baron’s outlook is extremely bullish considering that Tesla only recently achieved a $1 trillion market cap. Currently, chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA) is the world’s largest publicly traded company with a market capitalization of $3.65 trillion.
Ron Baron runs Baron Capital, a New York investment firm that has $45 billion of assets under management.
A Longtime Investor
Baron is one of the biggest Tesla investors and a longtime cheerleader for the company. He first invested $400 million in Tesla between 2014 and 2016, and says that he has made $6 billion on that initial bet as the electric vehicle manufacturer has grown and evolved. Today, Tesla represents 10% of Baron’s entire investment portfolio, which he says is diversified.
Tesla is seen as a beneficiary of the new administration of U.S. president-elect Donald Trump. Musk has become a prominent backer and donor to Trump and was recently assigned by Trump to lead a Department of Government Efficiency.
TSLA stock has risen about 25% so far in November following Trump’s electoral victory, and Baron said on CNBC that he plans to hold his Tesla shares for the long-term. “No way I’m going to sell,” he said.
Is TSLA Stock a Buy?
Tesla stock currently has a consensus Hold rating among 35 Wall Street analysts. That rating is based on 11 Buy, 16 Hold, and eight Sell recommendations made in the last three months. The average TSLA price target of $207.83 implies 34.66% downside risk from current levels.