Tesla became the first electric-vehicle maker to exceed a $100 billion market capitalization.
Tesla passed $100 billion in market value in January 2020 as investors responded to rising vehicle deliveries, improved profitability expectations, and the early success of the Model 3. The company’s valuation became larger than that of many long-established automakers even though Tesla produced fewer vehicles.
Tesla’s market-cap growth reflected expectations about more than car sales. Investors also considered battery production, charging infrastructure, autonomous-driving ambitions, software revenue, and the possibility that electric vehicles would take a much larger share of the global market.
Market capitalization should not be confused with production volume or company revenue. Established manufacturers could produce more vehicles while having lower market values because investors assigned different expectations to their future growth and profitability.