Tesla breaks $500 billion record after rising 547% this year

Tesla zoomed past a $500 billion market cap on Tuesday after markets opened and its stock price crossed $527.48 per share. Shares of Tesla were trading at $540.40, up more than 3%, when markets opened. Shares of the electric vehicle company have soared this year, rising nearly 550%, with gains accelerating over the past week after S&P Dow Jones Indices last Monday said Tesla will be added to the benchmark.

In October, Tesla reported its fifth consecutive quarter of profit on third-quarter revenue of $8.77 billion. The company also reported earlier that month it manufactured 139,300 vehicles during the third quarter, a new record for the carmaker. Tesla shares jumped up as much as 4.1% in New York in early trading, reaching an all-time high of $543.17, and amassing a market capitalization of over $506 billion.

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Crossing the threshold valuation makes Musk’s prediction true, who is said to have made this prophecy 18 months ago in a call with investors. With Tesla set to join the index on December 21, money managers and investors who closely observed the S&P 500 will now have to purchase the stock in order to accurately reflect the prediction. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has said Tesla’s inclusion could result in $8 billion of demand from active U.S. large-cap mutual funds.

This week’s stock jump also resulted in Musk overtaking Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates to be placed as the world’s second richest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index, which tracks the wealth of the world’s 500 richest people. Musk’s net worth has boomed more than $100 billion in 2020, marking the largest increase among those on the Bloomberg Billionaire Index. In January, Musk ranked 35th on the list. He now follows Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.