Chamath Palihapitiya says there's a big disruption coming that will cause Tesla to double again

Published Thu, Jan 7 20211:26 PM ESTUpdated Thu, Jan 7 20218:34 PM EST

(This story is for CNBC Pro subscribers only.) Social Capital's Chamath Palihapitiya said shares of Tesla , which just rallied sevenfold in 2020, will carry strong momentum forward on the heels of a massive transformation toward clean energy. "The big disruption that's coming is to power utilities," Palihapitiya said on CNBC's "Halftime Report" on Thursday. "There are trillions of dollars of bonds, of capex and of value sitting inside the energy generation infrastructure of the world that's going to go upside down. And when that goes pear-shaped, Tesla will double and triple again." Tesla soared more than 740% in 2020 despite the unprecedented pandemic as investors piled into the high-growth electric vehicle company amid strong earnings and a surge in interest. Bulls believe Tesla have more to go as a Democratic-controlled Congress would make it easier to push forward policies supportive of renewables. The stock has surged another 13% year to date. With the eye-popping rally in stock, CEO Elon Musk has become the richest person i n the world, with a net worth of more than $185 billion. "The world's richest person should be someone fixing and fighting climate change," Palihapitiya said. The reality is that Tesla is a distributed energy business. They are figuring out how to harness energy, store it and how to use it in a way to allow humans to be productive. Cars are a manifestation. Solar panels are as well. Power walls are as well." Many on Wall Street sounded the alarm on Tesla's sky-high valuation after its massive run recently. Some pointed to the speculative nature of the rally as investors bid up shares in anticipation of the company joining the S & P 500 Index. However, Palihapitiya said investors should stick with entrepreneurs making important changes in the world. "I don't understand why people are so focused on selling things that work. When things are working, you are paid to stay with people who know what they are doing," Palihapitiya said. "This is a guy who has consistently been one of the most important entrepreneurs in the world, why bet against him." "Delivering clean energy and allowing the world to be sustainable is an incredibly important thing that will be rewarded by markets and individuals," Palihapitiya added.

Chamath Palihapitiya

Cameron Costa | CNBC

(This story is for CNBC Pro subscribers only.)

Social Capital's Chamath Palihapitiya said shares of Tesla, which just rallied sevenfold in 2020, will carry strong momentum forward on the heels of a massive transformation toward clean energy.

"The big disruption that's coming is to power utilities," Palihapitiya said on CNBC's "Halftime Report" on Thursday. "There are trillions of dollars of bonds, of capex and of value sitting inside the energy generation infrastructure of the world that's going to go upside down. And when that goes pear-shaped, Tesla will double and triple again."