Tesla's market value now tops $20 billion: report
After a few rough quarters, Tesla and its Model S sedan seem poised for a breakthrough.
A man gestures as he walks past a billboard-sized photo of the Tesla Model S car, outside the boarded-up Tesla's first China flagship showroom at an office-shopping complex in Beijing August 23, 2013.
Reuters
Earlier this year, Tesla founder Elon Musk and John Broder of the New York Times scuffled over a negative review Mr. Broder had written of the Tesla Model S. The controversy seemed a low point for Tesla, which had initially struggled to find a large audience for its line of electric cars (the Times, in a separate article, went so far as to question the the "long-term viability of the company").
How far we've come.
On Monday, Bloomberg reported that Tesla's market value had passed $20 billion on the optimism of investors. "Tesla’s the Apple of automotive – it’s managed to cross the automotive and technology fields to become this hot commodity," Alan Baum, an independent auto analyst at Baum & Associates, told Bloomberg. "Justified or not, the expectations for this company are now very high."
For Tesla, which recently announced it had delivered 5,150 Model S sedans to customers in Q2 of 2013, it was just more good news.
A week back, the company said the Model S had received the highest possible crash test rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration – a rating that should help bolster the Model S's standing among many consumers. In addition, the Model S – starting price $59,000 – won Motor Trend's 2013 car of the year.
"In our first Models S range verification, a Model S with the 85 kW-hr battery traveled 234 miles on a single charge with an indicated 4 miles of range remaining before we had to power it up again," Motor Trend wrote in its review.
In related news, Tesla is said to be considering building factories in Europe and Asia, as it looks to expand its footprint overseas.