Tesla gains after William Blair points to ‘Apple-esque’ aura

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) traded higher on Thursday after the electric vehicle maker attracted a bull rating from William Blair. The firm started off coverage on the electric vehicle stock with an Outperform rating on its view that the energy storage business is underappreciated.

Analyst Jed Dorsheimer said the firm views Tesla Energy as the most underappreciated component of the Tesla (TSLA) story and expects a narrative shift from investors to the energy storage business in light of tempered EV expectations in the near term. Dorsheimer highlighted grid stabilization, the data center build out, and renewables integration as the three key drivers for energy storage upside.

“Combined with the auto business and longer-term opportunities like AI, robotaxi, and robotics, we see Tesla as a technology leader with an Apple-esque ecosystem for the future of energy,” wrote Dorsheimer.

In terms of valuation, Tesla (TSLA) was noted to trade at an enterprise value of 29X the firm’s 2026 EBITDA estimate and a price of 49X the 2026 EPS estimate. While those multiples were acknowledged to be difficult to justify, William Blair thinks the halo effect created by Musk, the company’s culture of first principles, and the technology advantages it has established warrant its significant valuation premium.

Shares of Tesla (TSLA) were up 2.75% in morning action on Thursday. The EV stock is still down about 15% on a year-to-date basis.