Don’t bet against Tesla, says ex-Tesla president John McNeill, who is not an investor.

Former president of electric vehicle giant Tesla said on Thursday that he would not bet against the company, noting that it is becoming a “formidable competitor” for automakers around the world after the company exceeded profit expectations in the third quarter.

John McNeill, currently a non-Tesla investor, told CNBC Squawk Box that the stock is “priced to perfection” right now, but he said he still runs Teslas. McNeill, also a former chief operating officer of Lyft, noted the company’s high gross margins.

“Gross margin is approaching 30%, just by comparison, that’s three times GM and about six times Ford,” McNeill said.

Despite supply chain problems, Tesla’s sales at the company have surged to record highs, while other automakers are struggling to meet their own demand.

“We are up more than 70% year over year compared to GM and Ford, which are both showing roughly 30% year over year declines,” McNeill said, listing several reasons why he would not be betting against Tesla. “They are now sitting on $ 16 billion in cash.”

Drivers who order vehicles from Tesla often have to wait months before receiving a product, which speaks to the demand for electric vehicles and also raises investor concerns about manufacturing.

With a new plant in Shanghai and two more expected to open in Texas and Berlin, the company “has proven it can now open more than one plant and produce in high volume,” McNeill said, noting that Tesla’s Shanghai plant produces so many that they are exporting back to North America. “So I think this is where we need to monitor their ability to increase production capacity to meet demand,” he added.

Other automakers introducing their own hybrid or electric vehicles are simply “opening more eyes for electric vehicles,” McNeill said. “Tesla has a dominant share in the US, with 65% of the US market, 21% globally, but I think this is in the context of Tesla having only 1% of the global car market, while EVs only have 4%. % “.

McNeill, currently the CEO of DVx Ventures, predicts that the EV industry is at the beginning of a “multi-year growth history” of EVs around the world.

Tesla shares, which are up more than 20% in 2021 and 100% in the past 12 months, fell nearly 1.5% in premarket Thursday.