Jun 11, 2020 - Economy

Tesla is close to becoming the world's most valuable car company

Data: Investing.com; Chart: Axios Visuals
Data: Investing.com; Chart: Axios Visuals

Tesla's stock rose to more than $1,000 a share for the very first time Wednesday, lifting its valuation above $190 billion.

Why it matters: Given its pace of growth this year, Tesla is now closing in on car industry leader Toyota's $216 billion, according to the WSJ.

  • The company's market cap has risen by nearly $40 billion in the last month and by $70 billion in the last three months.

What happened: The price jump followed news of an internal memo from CEO Elon Musk that it's "time to go all out" and bring its long-planned semitruck into "volume production."

Of note: Musk's note about Tesla's electric trucks follows a surge in the stock price of electric truck manufacturer Nikola, which has tripled its price since it began trading last week.

  • The jump pushed the company's market cap briefly above both Ford and Fiat Chrysler, despite the fact that Nikola hasn't sold a single vehicle.
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