Call of the week: Tesla is the 'future of transportation' and the 'biggest opportunity in tech'

A contrarian call on Tesla (TSLA) is Yahoo Finance’s call of the week. The electric carmaker disappointed Wall Street after reporting a wider-than-expected loss during the third quarter and pushed back the timeline of its production targets for the Model 3. CEO Elon Musk now expects Tesla to produce 5,000 Model 3 vehicles per week by the end of the first quarter of 2018, after previously saying the lofty goal would be reached by the end of December.

The lackluster quarterly results and revised timeline for Model 3 production sent Tesla shares tumbling. The stock fell further into bear market territory on Thursday, meaning shares had fallen more than 20% from the stock’s high of $389.61 reached in September. The stock’s drop was further exacerbated after Republicans unveiled a tax bill that would kill the federal tax incentives for electric vehicles at the end of 2017.

Despite these headwinds, Gene Munster from Loup Ventures isn’t too worried. In a note to clients following Tesla’s results, Munster reassured skeptics. He wrote, “Even if you soften Musk’s hype (i.e. Model 3 production ramp will be liken to a jet fighter in a vertical climb) with a dose of reality, Tesla is still in the driver’s seat (pun intended) to be one of only a few winners in the future of transportation.”

He’s focused on the future of the company. In a note earlier this week ahead of Tesla’s results, Munster said the electric carmaker was the “biggest opportunity in tech over the next five years.”

But not all on Wall Street agree. Analysts at Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan were among four firms that lowered their price targets on the stock following Tesla’s disappointing third quarter.

As of Friday afternoon trading, Tesla shares were down 5.2% since Wednesday’s close.

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