Elon Musk unveiled Tesla's much-hyped Cybertruck last night, and while the electric pickup's stats were predictably impressive, the tinfoil-hat design has engendered its share of ridicule. No automaker is more closely watched by Wall Street analysts, and while the financial community is unlikely to ever be in agreement with regards to Tesla, a quick survey of analysts by CNBC shows a fair bit of skepticism at Elon's latest wunderkind.
Coverage of Tesla is as polarized as coverage of U.S. politics, with analysts marked as Tesla bulls or bears. The article helpfully identifies each analyst's current rating on the company, to better contextualize their response.
Of the surveyed analysts, the biggest bear is Cowen Investment Banking's Jeffrey Osborne, who says, "In a night that might be remembered as the Armored Glass fail, Tesla's Cybertruck reveal will likely disappoint current pickup truck owners, and we see the vehicle remaining a niche and not a mainstream product." He goes on to say that the touted starting price of $39,900 "is likely never to be seen" and that "we do not see this vehicle in its current form being a success."
Representing the Tesla bulls, Jed Dorsheimer of Canaccord Genuity characterizes the $39,900 starting price as "a strong point." He also says they are "encouraged" by the truck's arrival, nothing that the pickup and the Model Y SUV allow Tesla to participate in two market segments in which it doesn't currently compete. He does, however, acknowledge that the Cybertruck's "futuristic design might be polarizing."
In between, AllianceBernstein's Toni Sacconaghi thought the Cybertruck would likely be analogous to Hummer "with sales of perhaps 50k units per year or less."
Finally, another analyst with a Hold recommendation, Dan Levy at Credit Suisse, summarized: "We think the legacy OEMs can breathe a sigh of relief."
Tesla shares fell by 6% at the market open following the unveiling.
