Elon Musk’s company outstrips Toyota on stock market as demand for electric cars soars

The electric car manufacturer has been tipped by some pundits to achieve a valuation of more than $1tn (£800bn).
Tesla has overhauled Japanese rival Toyota to become the world’s most valuable automotive company.

Despite never having made a profit, the billionaire Elon Musk’s electric car manufacturer has been tipped by some pundits to achieve a valuation of more than $1tn (£800bn) as demand for electric vehicles soars.
Shares in Tesla climbed by more than 4% during Wednesday to more than $1,100 apiece, giving the company a valuation of $209bn, ahead of Toyota on $205bn. The increase means Tesla has now outstripped Toyota on the stock market, even factoring in differences in the way that companies are valued in the US and Japan.

“Tesla remains significantly ahead of peers in product range, capacity and technology.”

Excitement has also been building around a so-called “million mile” battery lasting up to 16 years, which Tesla’s Chinese supplier Catl has been working on and which is predicted to lower the cost of electric vehicles.
The rise in Tesla’s share price is doubly good news for Musk, who enjoys a controversial pay arrangement linked to the company’s stock market performance that could theoretically hand him a $55bn bonus.
Under the scheme corporate governance experts have described as “staggering”, Musk must build Tesla into a $650bn company over the next 10 years, meaning the company’s share price will have to more than treble from Wednesday’s price of $209bn.