Tesla Slips As More Apple EV Plans Reported, B of A Upgrades Tesla is sinking on Monday despite a new upgrade and a raised price target from Bank of America. The pressure on Tesla stock appears to be due to further evidence that Apple is, in fact, working with Hyundai on electric cars. We had first reported that Apple was elbowing its way into the EV world last Friday. This morning, rumors of Apple and Hyundai working together got another shot in the arm when it was reported that the two companies would announce a partnership deal in March, according to StreetInsider.com. The two companies "plan to start production around 2024 in the United States," the report says. "The first media report that appeared over the weekend in South Korea noted the companies plan to use Kia Motors’ factory in Georgia, or alternatively, build a new factory in the United States." It is being reported that the partnership has a goal of producing 100,000 vehicles in 2024. Last week, after rumors first swirled about the partnership, Hyundai issued a statement backing away from the report and saying it had been contacted by "a number of potential partners" for EV development on Friday morning. Hyundai instead said last Friday "it received requests for potential cooperation from a number of companies," according to Bloomberg. Last Thursday evening, it was reported that an internal discussion at Hyundai about a partnership with Apple had already been complete and was awaiting the Chairman's approval. Hyundai and Apple were reported to be working on Apple Car production, self-driving and battery development together. Additionally, not one to be outdone by idiocy elsewhere on the sell side, Bank of America was the latest bank to find itself chasing Tesla's price higher. The bank raised its target on Tesla to a street high $900 on Monday morning, from its previous $500 target. Despite having a street high target, it maintained a "neutral" rating. "Our $900 PO is based on 23x EV/Sales and 118x EV/EBITDA on our 2021-2022 estimates and a PEG of 4.1x on capital-induced growth through 2025E," the note reads. The note seemed to simply cite the company's rising stock price as the upgrade. "TSLA will utilize its stock to raise capital through low-cost equity offerings in order to accelerate aggressive capacity buildout plans globally and drive units/revenue substantially higher," analyst John Murphy wrote. While acknowledging in passing that the auto industry is capital intensive, the note called Tesla's stock price an "upward spiral" and said that "the higher the upward spiral of TSLA’s stock goes, the cheaper capital becomes to fund growth, which is then rewarded by investors with a higher stock price." That doesn't sound ponzi-ish at all - and the worst part: so far, this analysis has actually been correct. Tyler Durden Mon, 01/11/2021 - 09:12