Is Tesla a takeover target? Elon Musk says probably not

Reacting to an analysis by two University of Virginia students, Tesla Motors' chief executive officer, Elon Musk, said that he's "highly confident" that the electric carmaker "can succeed as an independent company."

On Monday, the Business Insider site posted a column by the two UV students who wrote that Tesla is a "prime acquisition target," concluding with "it's unlikely that Tesla will financially succeed on its own even if the Model S works as predicted." In response, Musk fired off this email to Automotive News (sub. req.):

Their analysis of Tesla is incredibly bad. Tesla is of course a potential takeover target, like almost all public companies. However, I'm also highly confident that we can succeed as an independent company.

So, let's hear what you think. Will Tesla survive on its own? Or will some automaker, mayhaps Toyota, swoop in and acquire the electric carmaker?

[Source: Automotive News – sub. req.]