The former president of electric vehicle giant Tesla said Thursday he would not bet against the company, noting that it is becoming a "formidable competitor" for automakers around the world after the company beat third-quarter earnings expectations.

 

Currently, John McNeil, who is not a Tesla investor, told CNBC's "Squawk Box" that the stock is now "priced to perfection," and he confirmed he still drives a Tesla. McNeil, also a former Lyft chief operating officer, highlighted the company's high gross margins.

 

"Gross margin is approaching 30%, just to put it in perspective, it's three times GM's gross margin level and about six times Ford's gross margin level," McNeill said.

 

Despite supply chain issues, Tesla's car sales have risen to record highs, even as other automakers struggle to cope with their own demand.

 

"We're up more than 70% year-on-year compared to GM and Ford, which have a decline of about 30% year-on-year," McNeill said, listing a host of reasons why he wouldn't bet against Tesla. "They now have $16 billion in cash."

 

Drivers ordering cars from Tesla often have to wait several months before receiving the goods, which indicates demand for electric vehicles, but also raises investor concerns about production.

 

With a new plant in Shanghai and two more plants to be opened in Texas and Berlin, the company "has proven that it can open more than one plant and produce in large volumes," McNeill said, noting that Tesla's Shanghai plant produces so many products that it exports it back to North America. "So I think it's necessary to monitor their ability to increase production capacity to meet demand," he added.

 

According to McNeil, other automakers introducing their hybrid or electric cars are simply "opening more eyes to electric vehicles." "Tesla has a dominant share in the U.S., with a market share of 65% in the U.S., 21% worldwide, but I think that's in the context of Tesla having only a 1% share of the global car market and EVs only 4%."

 

McNeill, who is currently CEO of DVx Ventures, predicts that the EV industry is at the beginning of a "decade-long history of growth" for electric vehicles around the world.

 

Tesla shares, which are up more than 20% in 2021 and 100% over the past 12 months, fell nearly 1.5% in the pre-market on Thursday.