Tesla (TSLA) surged on Friday, capping a huge week for the EV maker as the stock hit its highest close in over two years. Optimism over CEO Elon Musk’s relationship with President-elect Donald Trump has sent investors into a frenzy, with Tesla’s market cap now topping $1 trillion.
To be fair, stocks overall have been hitting records, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average crossing 44,000 for the first time and the S&P 500 eclipsing 6,000. But the monster move in Tesla has been one for the record books, with the stock up a whopping 29% in just five days.
Tesla stock rose 8.2% on Friday to $321.22, hitting as high as $328.70 as the company achieved a trillion-dollar valuation for the first time in over two years. Only Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta are worth more, meaning the original “Magnificent Seven” has re-formed.
Massive moves both upward and downward are not new for Tesla, though recently the stock has been moving higher after early 2024 weakness. Better Q3 earnings and deliveries, and the promise of Tesla’s robotaxi Cybercab testing in earnest next year, have fueled optimism, even before this week’s Trump-inspired stock rally.
While Musk is in charge of companies like SpaceX (which includes Starlink) and X (formerly Twitter), Tesla investors have the most to gain — or lose — from Musk’s ties to Trump.
Threats of rolling back EV tax credits by a Trump White House and GOP-led Congress were thought of as headwinds to the Tesla volume growth story. Wall Street and investors are looking past that thorny issue, for now.
“Tesla has the scale and scope that is unmatched in the EV industry, and this dynamic could give Musk and Tesla a clear competitive advantage in a non-EV subsidy environment, coupled by likely higher China tariffs that would continue to push away cheaper Chinese EV players (BYD, Nio, etc.) from flooding the US market over the coming years,” Wedbush’s Dan Ives wrote in a note on Wednesday.
“We believe a Trump win could add $40-$50 per share to Tesla’s stock,” Ives added, noting that the company could exceed $1 trillion in market cap “if autonomous/FSD is accelerated starting in 2025.”
Beyond Tesla, because of Musk’s support of his candidacy, Trump has even promised Musk a position in his administration, suggesting Musk could head a commission to boost government efficiency.
It is because of that closeness to Trump, trade policy, and even environmental and manufacturing initiatives that Musk may have a hand in that investors are keen to bet on Tesla.
