Tesla is not the one EV inventory set to make earnings this yr, the analyst says

Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk.

Brendan McDermid | Reuters

Daniel Ives, an analyst at Wedbush, said electric vehicle stocks could rise as much as 50% this year. He believes there is room in the market for more than just Tesla.

“In my opinion, EV stocks could gain another 40 to 50% this year, considering that there is a green tidal wave around the world,” Ives told CNBC’s Street Signs Europe on Monday.

“I think the ocean is big enough for more than one boat right now,” said Ives. “It won’t just be Tesla’s world.”

Ives said he expected the electric vehicle industry to grow into a $ 5 trillion market over the next decade. In 2020, market research firm Fortune Business Insights was valued at around $ 250 billion.

He’s also optimistic about the outlook for traditional automakers as well as pure electric vehicle makers like Tesla.

“This is going to be a renaissance of growth for these automakers, I think, and you’re going to see a reassessment,” he said, pointing to General Motors and Ford.

And it’s not just EV manufacturers that are optimistic. In a February release, Goldman analysts pointed to six electric vehicle battery specialists with significant upside potential.

“This is one of the most transformative growth trends in electric vehicles in the last 20 or 30 years, and many will play and win in this sector in the years to come,” added Ives.

Tesla and Bitcoin

One thing that currently sets Tesla apart from other electric vehicle manufacturers is the $ 1.5 billion it has invested in the world’s most famous cryptocurrency, Bitcoin.

Ives said Tesla is now “a little bit waist-tied” with Bitcoin, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

“I think that’s a double-edged sword,” he said of the investment. “I still believe that pursuing Bitcoin is a wise strategic move for Tesla … They made more of Bitcoin than they did with EV car sales last year.”

Ives said he thinks between 3% and 5% of U.S. companies will own Bitcoin or some other cryptocurrency in the next 12 to 18 months.

“It will be contained until we see more regulatory target posts, but this won’t go away,” he said, citing recent Bitcoin investments by fintech company Square and software giant MicroStrategy.