Benzinga - by Chris Katje, Benzinga Staff Writer.
For years, Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood has been a supporter of electric vehicle company Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) and its CEO Elon Musk, calling for the company to trade as a technology stock and not as a traditional automotive company.
On Tuesday, Wood echoed her praise for Musk and the growth of electric vehicles.
What Happened: Musk recently said he would like to have increased ownership of 25% of Tesla in order to support his future artificial intelligence endeavors within the electric vehicle company.
"I am uncomfortable growing Tesla to be a leader in AI & robotics without having ~25% voting control. Enough to be influential, but not so much that I can't be overturned," Musk said.
Wood was asked about Musk's 25% ownership request during an interview Tuesday on CNBC.
"Elon Musk is a visionary leader. He's our renaissance man. He's the inventor of our age," Wood said.
In today’s market, investors are too focused on the short term and want immediate profits, dividends and buybacks, Wood said — instead of focusing on investing in some of the biggest opportunities of our lifetime right now.
"We are looking for visionary leaders looking to stand up to short-term oriented shareholders."
As for Musk wanting 25% ownership of Tesla, Wood said Ark is "all for it."
Wood was also asked about the news of Hertz Global Holdings (NASDAQ:HTZ) selling off some of its Tesla vehicles and scaling back its electric vehicle initiatives.
Wood said there is a learning curve when people first try out electric vehicles, and while the repairs are more costly than for traditional automobiles, she said the maintenance can be up to 60% less.
"When innovation is evolving … you're going to go through fits & starts … but the trend is undeniable. Last year, EV sales globally were up 28% while gas powered vehicle sales were up 9% – so share gains still."
While Hertz is slowing down its electric vehicle plans, Wood said Uber Technologies (NYSE:UBER) is encouraging more drivers to drive Tesla vehicles because it improves operations and consumers love them.
"The trend is undeniable."
Related Link: Here’s How Much $1,000 Invested In Tesla Stock Will Be Worth If Cathie Wood’s Price Target For 2027 Comes True
Why It's Important: Tesla is one of the largest positions in several of the Ark Funds ETFs.
Tesla is the largest holding in the Ark Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF (BATS:ARKQ), comprising 10.96% of assets in the fund. Tesla is also the second-largest and fifth-largest holding in the Ark Innovation ETF (NYSE:ARKK) and Ark Next Generation Internet ETF (NYSE:ARKW), respectively, comprising 7.64% and 5.06% of assets.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives recently said the comments from Musk created a firestorm.
The analyst, who has an Outperform rating and $350 price target on Tesla, said that if Musk created next-generation artificial intelligence projects outside Tesla, it "would clearly be a big negative for the Tesla story."
"It's no secret and a key to our bullish thesis that all AI initiatives be kept within Tesla form Dojo to Optimmus to FSD to various robotaxi and other robotic developments," Ives said.
Tesla's board and Musk should be able to resolve the issue in the next three to six months, the analyst said.
"Musk is Tesla and Tesla is Musk and AI is a key to the future of Tesla."
TSLA Price Action: Tesla shares trade at $209.19 versus a 52-week trading range of $138.01 to $299.29. Shares of Tesla are up 45% over the last year.
Read Next: Elon Musk Wants To Own 25% Of Tesla: Here’s How Much Of The EV Stock The CEO Owns
Illustration made using Shutterstock photo.
Latest Ratings for TSLA
| Feb 2022 | Daiwa Capital | Upgrades | Neutral | Outperform |
| Feb 2022 | Piper Sandler | Maintains | Overweight | |
| Jan 2022 | Credit Suisse | Upgrades | Neutral | Outperform |
View the Latest Analyst Ratings
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