Shares of electric vehicle company Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) rose during the first quarter following its launch of GigaFactory, one of the world’s largest manufacturing facilities, which will potentially drive significant cost reduction. Tesla is on target for a July 2017 launch of its mass market Model 3, potentially the largest product cycle in history. Additionally, the company’s SolarCity merger is on track, showing less cash drain than initially feared by investors. We believe a pro-U.S. jobs administration is a tailwind for Tesla as it is one of North America’s fastest growing employers. The company also raised $1.4 billion from capital markets during the period. As importantly, we think, was an announcement by Tencent, the largest publicly owned company in China, that it had acquired 5% of Tesla for $1.8 billion. (Gilad Shany/Ishay Levin)
From Ron Baron (Trades, Portfolio)'s first quarter 2017 Baron Partners Fund commentary.
