Tesla’s Giga Berlin is ‘Major Competitive Advantage’ in Europe, Says Wedbush

Tesla’s new German Gigafactory was granted approval to start production last week, and amidst the news, one analyst is doubling down on his bullish targets for the company’s stock.

Wedbush’s Daniel Ives says Tesla has cleared a “major overhang” with the production approval granted to the automaker’s new Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg location, according to Benzinga.

Ives has a $1,400 price target on Tesla, which is nearly 70 percent higher than the stock’s closing price of $838 on Friday.

The Tesla Model Y is likely to be “front and center” at the automaker’s new production facility in Grünheide, Germany for the next 12 to 18 months, according to Ives, as the company navigates high demand around the world.

Model 3 units are seeing wait times of up to 20 weeks in China, and both the Model 3 and Y are seeing long delivery turnarounds in several markets throughout the world.

In addition to the company’s Gigafactory Berlin, set to free up Gigafactory Shanghai significantly, Tesla’s Austin Gigafactory will help the automaker increase production capacity compared to its operation of just one U.S. facility in Fremont, California.

Wedbush says, “with the race for electrification in Europe hitting another gear and competition for EVs increasing from every angle with VW among others doubling down on its EV ambitions, we view Giga Berlin as a major competitive advantage for Tesla to further build out its supply footprint in this key region.”

Ives believes that Tesla may be set to produce 2 million units in 2022, with the Berlin factory eventually expected to produce around 500,000 vehicles per year.