Tesla now commands a bigger market valuation than social-media giant Facebook, with the latest jolt to the electric-vehicle maker’s share price coming from the capitulation of a long-time Wall Street bear on Thursday.
Elon Musk-led Tesla has been on a stunning run over the past year, recording a 743% gain in its stock in 2020 as the company blew past several key milestones, got added to the S&P 500 Index and benefited from a growing view among consumers and market watchers that electric cars will dominate the future auto industry.
After Thursday’s advance, Tesla’s market capitalization stands at about $774 billion, right above Facebook’s $765 billion. Facebook shares closed up 2.1% in New York, while Tesla rose 7.9% to close at an all-time high of $816.04.
Tesla shares are on a 10-day winning streak, the longest since April and only the second time since its 2010 initial public offering it’s gained so many days in a row.
That relentless surge has forced Wall Street into a perpetual game of catch-up, with analysts’ average price target still far below the current stock price. On Thursday, RBC Capital Markets analyst Joseph Spak upgraded Tesla to the equivalent of a hold rating from a previous sell recommendation, saying he got the stock “completely wrong.”
Spak raised his 2025 delivery estimate for Tesla to 1.7 million cars from 1.3 million, and said his biggest mistake was underestimating the company’s ability to take advantage of its stock price to raise capital and fund growth or acquisitions. The analyst more than doubled his price target to $700 from $339.
