Wedbush Securities began coverage of Tesla shares on Friday with an outperform rating, saying Elon Musk's electric vehicle and energy storage company is now in the top echelon of 21st century technology companies.

"Tesla has evolved into one of the most dynamic technology innovators over the last 30 years and, in our opinion, has put itself into an esteemed category of companies such as Apple and Amazon that have revolutionized consumer buying habits and behaviors over the last decade," Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives said in a note to investors.

Ives believes Tesla's value is debatable from a number of angles — such as a potential capital raise or government investigations stemming from Musk's tweets. But looking at the company as a whole, Ives said, Tesla should become "a technology titan over the coming years despite the near-term turbulence."

"Seeing the forest through the trees we believe Tesla has the most innovative product roadmap in the technology space over the next 5 to 10 years," Ives said.

Shares of Tesla closed Friday trading down 2.9 percent at $365.71 a share. Wedbush has a $440 price target on Tesla shares.

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