Tesla stock continues meteoric rise while Exxon's at a decade-low

Two of the most important companies on the energy beat are having very different weeks.

The big picture: Tesla's shares went bananas again Tuesday, spending much of the day well above $900 before falling at the trading close and continuing its fall early Wednesday. Meanwhile, Exxon's stock has been on a downward trajectory all year that picked up speed with Friday's disappointing earnings report — eventually reaching a decade-low.

• Tesla's market valuation is now $160 billion, despite being barely profitable.
• While the volatile electric automaker has emerged from near crises in recent years and turned a profit the last two quarters, it's hard to say why its stock has basically doubled in price in 2020 and shot up so fast the last few days.
• "No amount of product announcements, analyst upgrades or bullish investor predictions can satisfactorily explain this sort of meteoric rise. Nor the plummet into market close," Axios' Dan Primack wrote yesterday.

The other side: One reason why Exxon's declines continued this week, per multiple reports, seems to be a gloomy Goldman Sachs assessment.

• It "downgraded the stock to a sell rating Monday, saying 'more compelling returns opportunities exist both among the global majors and global large cap stocks outside of energy,'" CNBC reports.

Go deeper:

• Exxon mulling investing in electric-vehicle charging
• Tesla gains another $19 billion in market value