Tesla is now most valuable US auto company in history

BY TAL AXELROD – 01/08/20 03:09 PM EST

Tesla is officially the most valuable U.S. auto company in the country’s history after its stock prices surpassed the previous record held by Ford.

Tesla’s market value reached $85 billion at Tuesday’s close, passing the $80.8 billion record set by Ford in 1999. The Elon Musk-led automaker’s stock continued to rise Wednesday, trading up more than 4 percent.

Tesla’s stock also passed the market values of General Motors, which was valued at about $50 billion at Tuesday’s close, and Fiat Chrysler, which had a $22 billion showing by the end of Tuesday.

Tesla had previously been the U.S.’s most valuable automaker by market value, but it did not beat Ford’s 1999 record until this week.

The auto company has enjoyed a surge in its stock value since Friday after its announcement that it delivered 367,500 vehicles in 2019, a record number for the company and a 50 percent jump from 2018, according to Business Insider.

“We believe this new solid quarter of deliveries could further put to rest investor concerns around softening demand for Tesla’s product,” Emmanuel Rosner, an analyst at Deutsche Bank, wrote in a note on Tuesday that was obtained by Business Insider.

While Tesla has overtaken every other U.S. automaker, it is still trailing several foreign companies — Toyota finished Tuesday with a $232 billion stock value and Volkswagen had a value of about $98 billion. (READ MORE)