Wunderlich Dismisses Tesla (TSLA) Takeover Rumors; Maintains Buy (TM)

Investors are selling shares of Tesla Motors (Nasdaq: TSLA) Tuesday morning, potentially on the heels of an earlier research note from Wunderlich's Theodore O'Neill. Following a 2 percent rise on Monday, Tesla shares are down nearly 4 percent to around $31.25 at last check.

O'Neill's comments follow the Electric Vehicle Symposium in LA Monday, where Toyota (NYSE: TM) unveiled the electric version of its popular RAV4 SUV. While O'Neill believes bulls will point to the electric RAV4 as a reason for Toyota to make an outright purchase of Tesla, the analyst warned such a takeover is still "too early" given the economics of the vehicle. With the electric model priced just shy of $50,000, O'Neill calls the vehicle "uneconomical."

Although the Wunderlich analyst was not optimistic on M&A action, he said the news validates the Tesla technology used in its Roadster. O'Neill is modeling for Toyota's electric RAV4 to generate about $10-$20 million in sales per year for Tesla.

Wunderlich maintains a Buy rating and $49 price target on shares of Tesla.

The note comes ahead of Tesla's first-quarter results on Wednesday, May 9th after the market close. The Street is currently expecting a quarterly loss of 69 cents per share on sales of $32 million.

Visit our Analyst Ratings page to track all the market-moving analyst action on shares of Tesla ahead of the company's quarterly results.

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