Tesla became the world’s most valuable automaker by market capitalization in 2020.
The milestone occurred on July 1, 2020, when Tesla’s soaring share price pushed its market value above Toyota’s. Reports put Tesla’s market capitalization at roughly $207 billion, compared with about $202 billion for Toyota. Market capitalization is calculated by multiplying a company’s share price by its shares outstanding, so this ranking reflects investor valuation rather than vehicle production or sales.
Tesla’s rise followed an extraordinary stock-market rally. Its shares had more than doubled during the first half of 2020, helped by growing electric-vehicle enthusiasm, strong delivery figures, expectations for the Model 3 and Model Y, and improving confidence in the company’s financial outlook.
Readers sometimes confuse this event with earlier milestones. Tesla surpassed Volkswagen to become the world’s second-most valuable automaker in January 2020, and it became the most valuable American automaker earlier that year. It did not become the world’s largest automaker by units sold; Toyota remained vastly larger in production and sales.