April 05, 2017•Update: April 05, 2017
By Barry Eitel
SAN FRANCISCO
Tesla has become the most valuable automaker in the United States after edging out General Motors (GM) on the New York Stock Exchange.
Boosted by a 5 percent increase during Tuesday trading, Tesla stock closed at $303.70 per share on Tuesday.
According to Wall Street, the electric carmaker based in Silicon Valley had a market value of $53.07 billion. GM’s stock closed at $34.27 per share and the company had a market value of $49.61 billion.
During trading on Monday, Tesla bested Ford, which was founded exactly 100 years before Tesla and was previously the second most valuable automaker. Ford had a market value of $45.19 billion after shares closed at $11.37 each.
Although Tesla has now overtaken the legendary Detroit automakers, it lags behind Japanese automaker Toyota, which closed on the Tokyo stock exchange with a market value of $159.49 billion.
The number of cars built by Tesla is only a tiny fraction of the amount released by Ford and GM, though.
Tesla sold some 40,700 cars and SUVs in 2016. Ford, on the other hand, sold 2.6 million vehicles last year. GM, which owns brands including Chevrolet and Cadillac, sold just over 10 million vehicles in 2016, its best year of sales since it was founded in 1908.
Tesla’s stock surge is likely attributable to the impending release of its Model 3 electric sedan. The base model of the car is priced at $35,000, making it the least expensive Tesla vehicle so far.
