Tesla is on the verge of becoming the world’s most valuable automaker.
Despite all the stock market volatility this year, Tesla’s share price has continued to rise in 2020. This week, they surpassed $1,000 per share. Tesla shares have risen 23% since the beginning of June and closed Thursday down at $972.84 per share. The stock’s overall surge over the past six months has put Tesla within striking distance of displacing Toyota as the world’s most valuable automaker.
With a market capitalization of more than $190 billion, Tesla is close to reaching Toyota’s $210 billion valuation. A rally of another 11% could see the electric carmaker claim the crown. That’s assuming that Toyota shares hold steady at around $125 each.
Tesla’s valuation is remarkable given the difference in size between the two automakers. Tesla produced 103,000 vehicles in the first quarter of this year. That’s only 4% of the 2.4 million vehicles manufactured by Toyota in the same period.
Race to the Top
Tesla already became the world’s second most valuable automaker back in January, when it overtook Volkswagen. It’s now worth more than twice the German automaker, which said recently that it will meet an end-of-summer deadline to start delivering its flagship ID.3 electric car.
Toyota has already forecast an 80% plunge in profit this year. They also expect that it will take until the first half of 2021 before the auto market recovers to pre-pandemic levels. Shares in Toyota are down about 10% so far this year, and trading about 17% lower than the record high it reached back in 2015.
Despite pioneering interest in fuel-efficient vehicles with the Prius hybrid car, Toyota has been slow to shift to electric vehicles. They bet on hydrogen fuel cells first, before coming back around. The company is now changing course with investments in electric vehicles and self-driving cars.
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