NEW YORK (AP) — For Elon Musk fans, it’s the half a trillion-dollar bet.
FILE - Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, left, claps as Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk prepares to depart after speaking at a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show, on Oct.
5, 2024, in Butler, Pa. That is how much the stock market value of Tesla has rocketed since the presidential election, a vertiginous climb uninterrupted in recent days despite a disappointing financial report that would have sunk the stock of nearly any other company. Investors are wagering that President Donald Trump will help Musk’s company more than hurt it with his plans to take an axe to reams of Washington regulations and wield tariffs to get his way with key trading partners.“It’s going to be a golden age for Tesla and Musk,” said Wedbush Securities financial analyst Dan Ives, adding after an investor conference call Wednesday, “This is the bullish I’ve ever heard Musk.” Investing in Tesla has long been a gamble. Odds were against Musk creating a successful electric car company, never mind growing it to become the world’s most valuable automaker – and in the process making himself the world’s richest man. But this latest bet seems particularly risky. Musk says the true value of company lays in a future of Tesla robots, thousands of them possibly by the end of the year, and in unsupervised, driverless vehicles. He promised in Tesla’s investor conference call to start offering such robotaxis in June in Austin, Texas, and across the country by the end of next year. Speeding all that along will be Trump, or so the story goes, who has given Musk an office in the White House and made him the head of the new Department of Government Efficiency tasked with shrinking the size of the government. Trump’s new transportation secretary, who can have a big impact on Tesla, is mostly sticking to the script. Sean Duffy has promised to cut excessive regulation on automakers as well as to come up with a single set of federal rules on self-driving technology to replace a patchwork of state-by-state ones that Musk has blasted for holding back development. Perhaps more importantly, Trump has softened his stance toward China, a big market for Tesla, hitting the country with an additional 10% tariffs starting Saturday, and not the 60% he threatened on the campaign trail. Still, Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico, as well as China, should affect Tesla. Chief Financial Officer Vaibhav Taneja said last week the company should feel an impact to its business because it sources parts from around the globe.Tesla sources many of its parts from abroad and so Trump’s decision to impose 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico will hit the company hard if they stick. Trump also has vowed to eliminate a $7,500 federal tax rebate designed to get people to buy electric vehicles. He’ll also lower emission standards, a potential blow to Tesla’s business of selling “regulatory credits” to car makers that pollute more and fall short of the requirements. Tesla sold $692 million of these credits i n the last three months of 2024, a 60% jump from a year ago, revenue that nearly all flows straight to Tesla’s bottom line. It’s also unclear whether the Trump administration will hold off on investigations into Tesla, in particular a technology the company calls Full Self-Driving, a misnomer because the vehicles could require human intervention at any moment. In October, the transportation department’s auto safety regulator, the National Traffic Highway Safety Administration, launched the latest of several probes into the technology after getting reports of crashes in low-visibility conditions, including one that killed a pedestrian. Transportation Secretary Duffy promised senators at a hearing earlier this month that he would let the Tesla investigations follow the facts — specifically vowing to buck any political pressure to go easy on the self-described “first buddy” of the president.In early January, Tesla said sales dropped in 2024, a first in more than a dozen years, as rivals such as BMW, Volkswagen and China’s BYD come out with competitive EVs and steal market share. Then on Wednesday, Tesla reported revenue, profits and other key measures of financial health for the last quarter of 2024 all fell short of what analysts had expected. The stock climbed higher anyway. “Things that would hurt other automakers,“ marvels Morningstar analyst Seth Goldstein, ”don’t seem to impact Tesla.” Besides the business, Tesla shareholders must always keep one eye on the CEO himself. Lately, that’s meant weighing Musk’s foray into politics. In Europe, a major market for his cars, Musk has endorsed the far-right Alternative for Germany and called British Prime Minister Keir Starmer an “evil tyrant” who is running a “tyrannical police state.” On Inauguration Day in the U.S., Musk made a straight-arm gesture during a speech that many interpreted as Nazi salute. He scoffed at the criticism, but the backlash was fierce nonetheless. In Germany, an image of Musk making the salute was projected onto his massive Tesla factory outside Berlin in protest. In Italy, a communist youth group hung an effigy of Musk upside down in the same square in Milan where the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini was strung upside down, too. “How many of these Tesla buyers agree with Musk?” said Felipe Munoz, a senior analyst at auto researcher Jato Dynamics. “I don’t see the point of alienating potential customers.” Musk also risks turning off regulators in Europe, who he hopes will soon approve the use of Full Self-Driving there.The run-up in Tesla stock alone since the election amounts to more than the annual economic output of 160 countries. Tesla’s total market value has grown to about $1.3 trillion, more than the worth of General Motors, BMW, Ford, Ferrari, Porsche and a dozen other top car makers combined.“I see a path for Tesla being the most valuable company in the world — by far, not even close,” he said Wednesday, before doubling down on that statement. “There is a path where Tesla is worth more than the next five companies combined.” That would mean surpassing the likes of Microsoft, Apple and Nvidia. Tesla is currently the seventh-most valuable company in the S&P 500.“The bet for the ages that Musk made was on Trump,” he said. “Musk is going to have massive impact on deregulation in the beltway — and that is worth a trillion dollars.”ARLINGTON, Va. — Crews were on the scene on the Potomac River on Monday to retrieve the submerged wreckage of an airliner and an Army helicopter that collided midair in the deadliest U.S. air disaster since 2001. Authorities have recovered and identified 55 of the 67 people killed in the crash and Washington, D.C., NEW YORK — The new National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature i s a prolific, best-selling author of children’s books who hopes to use his two-year term to promote the wonders of picture stories. Mac Barnett’s appointment was announced Monday by the Library of Congress. He will be formally inaugurated Thursday. “The way he NEW YORK — For Elon Musk fans, it’s the half a trillion-dollar bet. That is how much the stock market value of Tesla has rocketed since the presidential election, a vertiginous climb uninterrupted in recent days despite a disappointing financial report that would have sunk the stock of nearly any other company. Investors are With his 70th birthday looming on this year’s horizon, Microsoft founder Bill Gates looked inward to open a window into the man behind Windows and other seminal software that turned the personal computer into a household staple. Gates focuses on the first quarter-century of his life in “Source Code: My Beginnings,” the opening installment in A lawsuit alleging for the first time that people died because of the disastrous 2023 East Palestine train derailment has been filed ahead of Monday’s second anniversary of the toxic crash near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border amid a flurry of new litigation. On Monday, Vice President JD Vance is also expected to visit the small community NEW ORLEANS — As New Orleans church leaders braced for the fallout from publishing a list of predatory Catholic priests, they turned to an unlikely ally: the front office of the city’s NFL franchise. What followed was a months-long, crisis-communications blitz orchestrated by the New Orleans Saints’ president and other top team officials, according Deciding when it's time for senior living can be challenging. However, a senior living community can be a positive step toward ensuring safety, health and happiness. Fighting hunger together: Safeway’s, Albertsons’ Nourishing Neighbors program tackles food insecurity‘Preventing the preventable:’ Most effective ways to protect your home from water damage Water damage stands as one of the most common and costly claims that homeowners face, accounting for nearly a quarter of all homeowners insurance claims.The Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust is hosting a tree-planting fundraiser, helping create a sustainable future for local communities, wildlife and the planet.
Sports Weather Traffic Talk And Community. Home Mynorthwest.Com
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Elon Musk's Net Worth Surges Past $400 BillionElon Musk's net worth has surpassed $400 billion, driven by Tesla's soaring share price and SpaceX's valuation. Musk attributed this surge to investor confidence despite a recent $350 billion valuation. Tesla investors anticipate benefits from Musk's influence on President-elect Donald Trump's administration, as both Tesla and SpaceX rely on government regulations and policies.
Read more »
The Tesla investors unfazed by Musk's DOGE focusBusiness Insider tells the global tech, finance, stock market, media, economy, lifestyle, real estate, AI and innovative stories you want to know.
Read more »
Tesla Owners Divided After Elon Musk's Salute at Trump's InaugurationTesla owners are reacting with mixed emotions to Elon Musk's controversial salute at Donald Trump's inauguration. Some are vowing to never purchase another Tesla product again, while others maintain that their love for the car is separate from their views on Musk.
Read more »
Elon Musk's Gesture Projected Onto Tesla Factory Alongside 'Heil Tesla'An image of Elon Musk making a controversial salute during a speech was projected onto Tesla's Gigafactory in Berlin. The display featured Musk's gesture alongside the words 'Heil Tesla.' Two left-wing activist groups, Led By Donkeys and Germany's Center for Political Beauty, claimed responsibility for the projection.
Read more »
Tesla Shareholders Press Musk on Political Activities During Earnings CallTesla investors are seeking answers from CEO Elon Musk about the time he dedicates to Tesla versus his political engagements, particularly his advisory role in the Trump administration. Shareholder questions focus on the impact of Musk's political activities on Tesla's brand and performance, his controversial hand gesture perceived as a Nazi salute, and his engagement with right-wing political figures.
Read more »
Musk's Tesla Battles Trump-Backed Tariffs on Chinese GraphiteElon Musk's Tesla Inc. is fighting new tariffs on graphite imports from China, clashing with President Trump's favored economic tool. US graphite producers seek higher tariffs, arguing Chinese competition keeps prices artificially low. Tesla and other EV companies oppose these tariffs, which they say will increase production costs and consumer prices.
Read more »