Tesla Motors, Inc. (TSLA, Financial) manufactures cars powered by lithium-ion batteries using an electric drive train. It builds vehicles to the highest quality and design standards, yet prices them at a level in line with internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. Tesla has proprietary technology and is building additional battery capacity that we believe will give it a competitive advantage traditional car manufacturers will find extremely difficult to overcome. With its plan to launch a $35,000 electric car in 2017, we think demand for Tesla's cars could reach 500,000 per year by 2020 and grow to several times that amount in following years. Tesla is led by Elon Musk, an entrepreneur tied to several tr ansformative companies, including PayPal, SpaceX and SolarCity. We believe Elon may lead the transformation of the auto industry from its ICE age to the dot.com era. We will write about what we believe are Tesla's significant competitive advantages and growth opportunities in future letters. One thing, however, is clear: traditional car manufacturers hate Tesla. Car dealers hate Tesla. Oil companies hate Tesla. Unions hate Tesla. Only consumers like Tesla. We do too. (Gilad Shany)
From Baron Funds' first quarter 2014 letter to shareholders.
