--- title: "Tesla Is Now the Most Valuable Auto Company In US History" description: "Tesla shares surged at the beginning of this year, making it the most valuable U.S. auto maker of all time, as The Wall Street Journal reports." date: "2020-01-08" modified: "2020-01-08" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-most-valuable-auto-maker-us-history" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Tesla" tags: - "elon musk" - "gigafactory" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # Tesla Is Now the Most Valuable Auto Company In US History ![Tesla shares surged at the beginning of this year, making it the most valuable U.S. auto maker of all time, as The Wall Street Journal reports.]() *\Image: Victor Tangermann\* ## Surging Shares Elon Musk-led electric car company Tesla has had an incredible start to the decade. Shares surged at the beginning of 2020, making it the most valuable U.S. automaker of all time with a market capitalization of $81.39 billion, passing Ford Motor's 1999 record of $80.81 billion, [*The Wall Street Journal* reports](). ## Upward Trend And Tesla shares are still on the rise. Stocks rose to $469.06 on Tuesday, representing a boost of 3.9 percent so far this year. While it's currently the most valuable auto maker in the U.S., Tesla's valuation is still dwarfed by its international competition. The number one spot goes to Toyota, with a capitalization of over $230 billion, according to *WSJ*. And the highest valued U.S. company is currently Apple, worth more than $1.3 trillion. ## Impromptu Striptease The boost in share price is likely linked to the company's recent successes abroad. Musk was spotted on Tuesday doing an impromptu ["striptease"]() at the company's Gigafactory in China — a celebration of the launch of the Model Y and the first delivery of a Chinese-made Model 3. Reality check, though: the company has yet to turn an annual profit, according to the *WSJ*. The figures aren't adjusted for inflation and debt, and in the second quarter of 2019 alone, the company [lost over $400 million](). **READ MORE:**[ Tesla Is Now the Most Valuable U.S. Car Maker of All Time]() \[*The Wall Street Journal*\] **More on Tesla:** *[Watch Elon Musk’s “NSFW” Dance at Chinese Tesla Factory]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()