Bill Ackman is known for plenty of his own business successes. As founder of hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management, the billionaire investor has stood out for going against the crowd -- and making billions as a result. For instance, Ackman bet on the failure of MBIA, a municipal bond insurer exposed to the subprime mortgage market -- and won that bet during the financial crisis of 2007 and 2008.

Ackman uses instruments such as credit default swaps and short positions to bet on potential outcomes in the financial world. And as an activist investor, he's bought significant positions in big companies and weighed in on how those companies are run. In a recent post on Twitter, Ackman spoke about someone else who goes against the crowd: Tesla (TSLA -1.11%) chief executive officer Elon Musk. Let's take a closer look -- and see what it may mean for the future of the Tesla share price.

Experts may not know best

Ackman wrote a long post on Twitter over the weekend about how, sometimes, those considered experts on a subject aren't the ones who know best. Because something hasn't happened before, they imagine that particular thing won't happen in the future.

"It is often the outlier with no experience in a field that challenges the status quo, that makes the important discovery, that has the unique insight, or creates the transformational innovation," Ackman wrote in his post. Musk "was not an expert in payments, electric cars, or rockets. The 'experts' were at Visa, GM (General Motors) and NASA."

It's clear Ackman views this as an element that put Musk on the road to becoming a billionaire entrepreneur. Earlier in his career, Musk launched an online bank that would later, through a merger, form Paypal. He founded SpaceX, a maker of advanced rockets, with the dream of travel to Mars. And Musk continues to make headlines for his work at Tesla.

In fact, Musk's challenging of the status quo may be what will boost Tesla's share price in the coming years. That's because all eyes are on Tesla's self-driving technology. And Musk recently said the technology could be ready by the end of this year. Many doubt this timeline -- because Musk has made these sorts of predictions before.

Still, at a certain point, this much-awaited technology may indeed reach the finish line. Musk aims to use self-driving software to power a fleet of robotaxis, which could provide a significant new source of revenue for the company.

Cathie Wood's big bet on Tesla

Star investor Cathie Wood and her firm Ark Invest have placed a big bet on Tesla. It's the biggest holding in her flagship fund. Wood and her team say the stock could reach $2,000 by 2027. That represents a gain of more than 600% from today's price.

Of course, there's no guarantee Tesla will launch the self-driving technology or reach Wood's price target. But the company, with Musk at the helm, has driven record earnings, and vehicle deliveries keep increasing -- even in a difficult economy. And the stock has climbed too, gaining more than 100% this year.

So, investors have benefited from believing in someone who isn't an expert, as Ackman says. And this quality could help Tesla stock rise further.

Does this mean you should bet on those who aren't experts or challenge the common views every time? Not necessarily. But it does mean we should offer companies and their leaders a fair look. And it also means that we, too, as investors, should allow ourselves to question common beliefs. From time to time, we may discover an under-the-radar stock that could help our portfolios soar.