Tech

Tesla stock going to $4,000 — that would be an increase of 1,100%: Money manager Catherine Wood

Key Points
  • Tesla at $4,000 would put it in the same market value league as the world's biggest tech giants.
  • "If we're wrong," Wood says, "our bear case is $600" on Tesla, which would still be nearly a double.
  • Tesla is one her overall fund's largest holdings.
Tesla shares will hit $4,000, says Ark CEO Catherine Wood
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Tesla shares will hit $4,000, says Ark CEO Catherine Wood

Ark Investment Management CEO Catherine Wood, a money manager known for making bold calls, told CNBC on Wednesday she believes Tesla stock will one day trade at $4,000 per share.

"If we're right, this stock in our models is going to $4,000," Wood said on "Squawk Box." "If we're wrong, and all they do is electric, our bear case is $600."

Even at Wood's "bear case," $600 per share would be nearly a double from current levels. Tesla is one her overall fund's largest holdings.

"The future is electric," Wood said. "The future is [also] transportation as a service, software as a service." She added, "This is where Tesla is going."

The highest price target among the Wall Street analysts who cover Tesla is $500 per share.

In December, talking up her belief in bitcoin, Wood floated another provocative idea, saying the world's biggest cryptocurrency is "so much bigger an idea than even Apple, which is a pretty big idea."

Tesla stock at $4,000 would also certainly qualify as big idea, and would translate to a market value about $672 billion.

By comparison, Apple already has a market value of about $837 billion, and it's leading the race among Google-parent Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon to become the first $1 trillion company.

Wood believes Tesla, with a current market value of around $56 billion, should be in the same league as the big four tech stocks due to Elon Musk, the billionaire founder of Tesla and SpaceX.

"If Elon Musk of SpaceX can do what they did yesterday in space, they're going to be able to produce the Model 3," the first mass market electric car from Tesla, she said.

Musk notched a milestone in space on Tuesday by successfully launching the most powerful commercial rocket in the world with a Tesla Roadster sports car on board to demonstrate the kind of payload it can handle.

Shortly after the launch, Musk tweeted out the view of "Starman," the crash dummy in the front seat of the Roadster, named after the David Bowie song.

Live view of Starman

Wood said she's confident that Tesla can fix the Model 3 production problems that have delayed the rollout because the company draws from the "same brain trust" as SpaceX.

The Ark Investment CEO isn't the only money manager with high expectations for Musk and Tesla. Billionaire investor Ron Baron, a huge shareholder in the electric car company, told CNBC back in November that he believes he can make 20 times his money on the stock over the next 10 to 15 years.

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