Analyst: Tech giants pose more threat to Tesla than expected

Recently, foreign media reported that the threat posed by technology giants to Tesla, an American electric car maker, may be greater than previously expected. Even among analysts who were previously very optimistic about Tesla, some are showing growing anxiety.

Adam Jonas, an automotive analyst at Morgan Stanley, lowered his target share price for Tesla in mid-last month due to concerns about competition from global technology giants. Recently, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced his plans to develop an autonomous driving system, which prompted Jonas to reiterate this concern in a research report.

"In a recent Bloomberg interview, the CEO gave the most candid and direct account yet of Apple's position in the rapidly changing automotive and transportation landscape," Jonas wrote in a note Wednesday. "Tesla investors must prepare for intense competition for talent and investment capital in this industry."

Cook said in the interview that autonomous driving systems are a key focus area for the company. Cook also said: "Autonomous driving systems are core technologies and are very important to us."

In order to occupy the high point of the future automobile industry, many technology companies are scrambling to enter. Waymo, a subsidiary of Google's parent company Alphabet, has reached a cooperation agreement with Fiat Chrysler and Lyft, a taxi app, on driverless technology. BMW, General Motors and other automakers have opened offices of considerable size in Silicon Valley.

Apple initially sought to build a car on its own, but later adjusted its plan and decided last year to prioritize the development of the technology behind it. After Apple decided to launch its car project Project Titan in 2014, it has hired more than a thousand engineers.

Jonas also worries that this is just the first step for Apple. Jonas concluded: "We think Apple will eventually expand beyond software and design its own cars or launch a platform for third-party services and content. This is because Apple claims that its greatest success lies in vertical integration of the market, controlling hardware and software to create a platform."

According to the survey, there are currently 8 analysts who rate Tesla's stock as a buy, 10 as a hold, and 6 as a sell, with an average target price of $300, about 20% lower than the company's closing price on Tuesday. In January 2016, Jonas set Tesla's target price at $450, but it has now been revised to $305.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.