Tesla Stock Closes At New Record High As Shares Surge 6%

 

The automaker’s stock has rallied in recent weeks as analysts remain optimistic for the Musk-led firm.

Elon Musk added more than $10 billion to his net worth Wednesday as Tesla’s shares rose to a new high amid a broader surge for tech stocks, as analysts have held optimism for the automaker in the weeks since the election.

Key Facts

Tesla’s stock closed Wednesday up nearly 6% at $424.77, surpassing the stock’s previous record close of $409.97 set on Nov. 4, 2020 after shares surged as high as $424.88, eclipsing an intraday record of $414.50 set the same day.

The stock has traded in the green in seven of the eight trading sessions so far this month, with shares up by more than 20% in December as of Wednesday.

This month’s rally follows optimism from several analysts last week, after the investment firm Stifel elevated its price target for Tesla from $287 to $411, the highest of all 45 Wall Street price targets tracked by FactSet.

Big Number

Nearly 75%. That’s how much Tesla shares have increased since Nov. 4, the day before the presidential election, in what Stifel analyst Stephen Gengaro called a “crazy month” for the stock. A Trump administration likely “bodes very well for Tesla,” Gengaro wrote, suggesting Tesla has a “clearer path” to regulatory approval for its Full-Self Driving programs and self-driving robotaxis.

Forbes Valuation

Musk has a fortune valued at $428 billion, according to Forbes’ latest estimates. Musk is the first person to have an estimated net worth above $400 billion, after Forbes confirmed SpaceX and its investors bought back insiders’ shares in a deal valuing the company at $350 billion. That valuation boosted Musk’s roughly 42% stake in SpaceX to $147 billion, an increase of 60% from SpaceX’s previous tender offer that valued the firm at $210 billion. Tesla’s stock bump on Wednesday added $10.7 billion.

Key Background

Tesla’s recent market surge runs parallel with Musk’s increasingly close relationship with Trump’s campaign. The world’s wealthiest man spent more than $270 million to help Trump get elected, after Musk became a more vocal supporter of the president-elect after a failed assassination attempt on Trump during a campaign rally in July. Musk joined Trump in meetings with world leaders, appeared at campaign events and was tapped by Trump to lead the Department of Government Efficiency alongside former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. The Tesla CEO told investors in October he would use his relationship to help establish a “federal approval process for autonomous vehicles,” as approvals currently happen at the state level.