Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA)’s market value exceeded $20 billion on investor optimism that Elon Musk can keep widening the appeal of electric-powered cars.
The stock climbed 3.9 percent to a $168.07 at 10:13 a.m. New York time after reaching an intraday record of $169.30. Shares of the Palo Alto, California-based company, which had its initial public offering just three years ago, have surged about fivefold this year.
The 10-year-old carmaker named for inventor Nikola Tesla intends to deliver 21,000 units of its flagship Model S electric sedans this year and double that in 2014. Chief Executive Officer Musk, 42, has said demand for the car, priced from about $70,000, currently outstrips Tesla’s ability to make it.
“Tesla’s the Apple of automotive -- it’s managed to cross the automotive and technology fields to become this hot commodity,” said Alan Baum, an independent auto analyst at Baum & Associates in West Bloomfield, Michigan. “Justified or not, the expectations for this company are now very high.”
By sales and production volume, Tesla ranks among the smallest of international automakers.
General Motors Co. (GM), the biggest U.S. automaker by sales, has a $49 billion market capitalization. Ford’s market value of $65 billion is the largest among U.S.-based carmakers.
Tesla’s Model S was named 2013 Car of the Year by Motor Trend magazine; Consumer Reports in a May review rated it among the best it’s ever tested; and this month the company said the model received top crash and safety ratings in tests by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The company made a secondary public share sale in May, after posting its first quarterly profit, excluding some items. That helped Tesla raise more than $1 billion to fund product development and pay off a U.S. Energy Department loan nine years early.
To contact the reporter on this story: Alan Ohnsman in Los Angeles at [email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jamie Butters at [email protected]
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[h=3]Tesla Market Value Rises to $20 Billion on Electric-Car Optimism[/h]
Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg
The 10-year-old Tesla Motors Inc., named for inventor Nikola Tesla, intends to deliver 21,000 units of its flagship Model S electric sedans this year and double that in 2014.
The 10-year-old Tesla Motors Inc., named for inventor Nikola Tesla, intends to deliver 21,000 units of its flagship Model S electric sedans this year and double that in 2014. Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg
Enlarge image
[h=3]Tesla Market Value Rises to $20 Billion on Electric-Car Optimism[/h]
Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg
Tesla Motors Inc.’s Model S was named 2013 Car of the Year by Motor Trend magazine; Consumer Reports in a May review rated it among the best it’s ever tested; and this month the company said the model received top crash and safety ratings in tests by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Tesla Motors Inc.’s Model S was named 2013 Car of the Year by Motor Trend magazine; Consumer Reports in a May review rated it among the best it’s ever tested; and this month the company said the model received top crash and safety ratings in tests by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg
The stock climbed 3.9 percent to a $168.07 at 10:13 a.m. New York time after reaching an intraday record of $169.30. Shares of the Palo Alto, California-based company, which had its initial public offering just three years ago, have surged about fivefold this year.
The 10-year-old carmaker named for inventor Nikola Tesla intends to deliver 21,000 units of its flagship Model S electric sedans this year and double that in 2014. Chief Executive Officer Musk, 42, has said demand for the car, priced from about $70,000, currently outstrips Tesla’s ability to make it.
“Tesla’s the Apple of automotive -- it’s managed to cross the automotive and technology fields to become this hot commodity,” said Alan Baum, an independent auto analyst at Baum & Associates in West Bloomfield, Michigan. “Justified or not, the expectations for this company are now very high.”
By sales and production volume, Tesla ranks among the smallest of international automakers.
General Motors Co. (GM), the biggest U.S. automaker by sales, has a $49 billion market capitalization. Ford’s market value of $65 billion is the largest among U.S.-based carmakers.
Tesla’s Model S was named 2013 Car of the Year by Motor Trend magazine; Consumer Reports in a May review rated it among the best it’s ever tested; and this month the company said the model received top crash and safety ratings in tests by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The company made a secondary public share sale in May, after posting its first quarterly profit, excluding some items. That helped Tesla raise more than $1 billion to fund product development and pay off a U.S. Energy Department loan nine years early.
To contact the reporter on this story: Alan Ohnsman in Los Angeles at [email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jamie Butters at [email protected]
Enlarge image
[h=3]Tesla Market Value Rises to $20 Billion on Electric-Car Optimism[/h]
The 10-year-old Tesla Motors Inc., named for inventor Nikola Tesla, intends to deliver 21,000 units of its flagship Model S electric sedans this year and double that in 2014.
The 10-year-old Tesla Motors Inc., named for inventor Nikola Tesla, intends to deliver 21,000 units of its flagship Model S electric sedans this year and double that in 2014. Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg
Enlarge image
[h=3]Tesla Market Value Rises to $20 Billion on Electric-Car Optimism[/h]
Tesla Motors Inc.’s Model S was named 2013 Car of the Year by Motor Trend magazine; Consumer Reports in a May review rated it among the best it’s ever tested; and this month the company said the model received top crash and safety ratings in tests by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Tesla Motors Inc.’s Model S was named 2013 Car of the Year by Motor Trend magazine; Consumer Reports in a May review rated it among the best it’s ever tested; and this month the company said the model received top crash and safety ratings in tests by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg