Tesla tapped the brakes this week after its record-breaking rally.
The stock closed 4% lower for the week, pulling back further from a record high on Jan. 25. Shares are down more than 13% from that peak.
It remains up 1,000% since a March low. Those gains pushed its valuation to 1,223 times trailing earnings.
Todd Gordon, founder of TradingAnalysis.com, said critics of its high multiple are missing something critical regarding its growth prospects.
“I’ve argued the bull side of Tesla here on CNBC versus multiple fundamental analysts who are saying it’s overvalued … But I think there’s more to the story here,” Gordon told CNBC’s “Trading Nation” on Thursday.
He said Tesla cannot be measured alone — investors also need to factor in the potential of Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s privately held space exploration company SpaceX. That company raised another $850 million last week, pushing its total valuation to $74 billion.
“What they do is they’re sending satellites into lower-earth orbit to provide global internet coverage. … It’s going to basically blanket the globe in the satellites that will provide high speed internet around the world,” Gordon explained.
That provides massive potential for Tesla’s push into autonomous vehicles, says Gordon. He hypothesizes that SpaceX’s satellite coverage could allow Tesla vehicles to communicate with one another, track traffic, connect with AI processors and support autonomous driving.
“For a true autonomous experience, you’re going to need that global satellite coverage. … The link between the two makes total, total sense and if [Musk] can control global satellites along with the first-mover advantage of electronic vehicles, for me, I think it’s game over,” Gordon said. “I think that’s why it’s trading with a 1,200 P/E, and I just think a lot of people are missing that.”
Gordon is using the recent pullback to add to his position. Tesla accounts for roughly 2% of his total portfolio.
Tesla had not responded to a request for comment by publishing time.
