Tesla Is Now the Most Valuable U.S. Automaker, but It’s More Than Just a Car Company

Tesla v. Ford

Tesla’s stock went up almost 6 percent this week — an all-time high for the automaker — after it reported strong sales for its Model S and Model X vehicles. Concurrently, competing automaker Ford — one of the consistently leading automakers in the world — saw shares dip to 3 percent at the end of a weak first quarter. As a result, Tesla’s market value is now at $48 billion compared to Ford’s $45 billion — making Tesla the most valuable U.S. automaker according to stock market standards.

Tesla overtaking Ford’s stock market value is a remarkable achievement, especially since Tesla was only founded in 2003. Ford, on the other hand, is a 114-year-old company. Another major U.S. automobile manufacturer, General Motors (GM), is also well over 100 years old and is valued at around $50.8 billion — a benchmark Tesla could be fast-approaching.

It could be argued that Tesla’s strong numbers are largely being driven by the company’s potential. This year, Tesla is preparing for the launch of its $35,000 Model 3 electric vehicle (EV). Demand for the new model is strong--and with consistent reports ensuring the company’s timely delivery of the product.

More Than An Automaker

It’s also worth noting that despite Tesla's unprecedented success in the automotive industry, the company is actually a lot more than than an car manufacturer. That being said, comparing Tesla to companies that only concern themselves with vehicles "apples to apples" might be a little misleading. The work they do at the "gigafactory" goes beyond designing cars — even electric ones.

As explained in their mission statement:

Following CEO Elon Musk’s vision, the goal is to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy. To that end, all their efforts are focused on developing the company to further achieve — by leaps and bounds, it seems — a strong focus on energy innovation, technology, and design.