Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk may think Apple could be a serious competitor when it introduces a car, but at least one analyst doesn't think that's necessarily the right move for the tech giant.
"Clearly they have the pockets. Clearly the opportunity is there. My big worry is do they actually have the experience to enter that market," Oppenheimer analyst Andrew Uerkwitz said in an interview with CNBC's "Power Lunch" on Thursday.
Uerkwitz, who currently has a "hold" rating on Apple, said he would view the company's entrance into the auto industry "very negatively."
Musk's comments on Apple came during Wednesday's Code Conference in Rancho Palo Verdes, California.
"I think they'll probably make a good car and probably be successful. The car industry is very big — it's not as though there's one company to the exclusion of others," said Musk, who believes Apple could have its vehicle out by 2020.
Uerkwitz agrees the market is big enough for multiple competitors and thinks a company like Apple would validate what Tesla has been doing — applying a technology mindset to an industrial sector.
However, while getting even just 1 percent penetration in the overall auto market would bring a lot of revenue, there's more to it than that, he said.
"There's supply chain issues, I think you've got to get scale and so forth. It's very capital intensive. I wouldn't expect a positive [return on investment] for many, many years."
— CNBC's Hailey Lee contributed to this report.