The latest rally for Tesla’s stock sent shares to a new 52-week high while adding more than $14 billion to Elon Musk’s net worth, as some analysts remain optimistic for the company owned by the world’s wealthiest person, especially under a Trump administration, which might provide regulatory relief for Tesla.
Key facts
- Tesla’s shares increased by more than 3.6% to over $370 as of around 11:20 a.m. EST, adding to Wednesday’s rally of 1.8%.
- The stock briefly surged on Thursday by as much as 4.5% to a new 52-week high of $375.43, the highest level for the stock since Jan. 5, 2022.
- Musk’s roughly 12% stake in Tesla increased from $251.2 billion on Tuesday to $265.5 billion on Thursday, putting him now more than $110 billion ahead of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the second-richest.
- This week’s rally, including a nearly 3.5% jump on Monday, comes amid optimism for Tesla’s stock: Analysts at the investment firm Stifel elevated its price target for Tesla to $411 from $287, the highest of all 45 Wall Street analyst price targets tracked by FactSet.
Key background
Shares of Tesla are up more than 47% since Nov. 5, the day before the election, in what Stifel analyst Stephen Gengaro called a “crazy month” for the stock. Musk’s relationship and involvement with the president-elect’s administration “bodes very well for Tesla,” Gengaro wrote, adding Tesla has a “clearer path” to regulatory approval for the automaker’s Full Self-Driving autonomous and semi-autonomous driving programs and self-driving robotaxis.
Contra
Despite Stifel’s optimism, the investment firm said Tesla’s shares are “clearly significantly overvalued” if Tesla is seen “as an auto company.” Gengaro wrote Tesla is “clearly not just an automaker,” as the company’s $1.1 trillion market capitalization is more than the combined valuation of the next 10 most valuable publicly traded car companies.
Tangent
Bezos, who has a fortune valued at $233.4 billion, has traded spots with Oracle chairman Larry Ellison as the world’s second-richest multiple times in recent months. Ellison claimed the ranking as Oracle shares surged on Sept. 14 before Bezos reclaimed the spot on Nov. 1. The two billionaires traded the spot multiple times on Nov. 14, with shares of Amazon and Oracle fluctuating throughout the day. Ellison has an estimated net worth of $230.8 billion as of Thursday.
