How Tesla became the most valuable car company, and Musk the richest man in the world

Shares of “Tesla” had an incredible 2020, and in 2021 they will not stop growing. The dizzying growth of the value of shares of almost 800 percent enabled “Tesla” to become the most valuable automobile company in the world, and put its executive director Ilona Maska on the throne of the richest people in the world with a fortune of 186 billion, which overtook “Amazon” founder Jeff Bezos.

As it says RTS, of $ 90 12 months ago, Tesla shares reached an incredible $ 816. The estimated market value of the American manufacturer of electric cars is now more than 750 billion dollars. Tesla has thus become by far the most valuable automobile company, despite producing far fewer vehicles than Toyota, Volkswagen and General Motors.

Few believed as much in the future of the company as CEO Elon Musk. Two years ago, an American entrepreneur gave up fixed salaries and bonuses instead, choosing to have his income based solely on the company’s performance. Each time a company’s value crossed a certain target point, starting at $ 100 billion in market value, Musk would get a stock option, which allows him to buy a certain number of company shares at a predetermined price.

The increase in the value of shares means two things for Mask – that his previous share in the company is worth more and that he will gain the opportunity to acquire additional shares. If the company is doing well (which is evident in “Tesla’s” case), Mask’s fortune gets the effect of a rolling ball. Each subsequent set goal that the company achieves, for its CEO, means hundreds of millions, even billions, of dollars.

“How strange. Well, back to work “, Musk briefly commented on the fact that he became the richest man in the world.

Although the biggest growth factor of “Tesla” is certainly the huge confidence of investors in the future of the company, which last year was included in the stock exchange index S&P 500, there are some other reasons why the company got to where it is.

Tesla is entering the compact SUV market

The company launched the “Y” model in early 2020, thus entering one of the fastest growing segments of the auto industry. Despite the fact that the foundations for mass production are still being laid, and sales are still limited to US soil, Musk expects that the compact SUV will be Tesla’s best-selling model in the future and surpass sales of the other three models together. Sales of the “Y” model are expected to see a significant increase this year with the start of production in China.

“Gigafabrika” in Shanghai

Tesla started producing vehicles at the plant near Shanghai at the end of 2019, with an annual production capacity of 200,000 model 3 vehicles.

The beginning of the work of the factory was precisely timed, when the demand for vehicles increased again, because China very quickly managed to control the epidemic of kovida-19 within its borders. Cheaper vehicles produced in a domestic factory met with great reactions from Chinese consumers. The company’s revenues in China jumped by 90 percent in the first 9 months of 2020. In addition, the rapid construction of the factory (it took only a year from laying the foundation to the descent of the first vehicles from the tracks) showed investors that “Tesla” can start production very efficiently in good conditions, which is a positive sign considering the upcoming opening of new Gigafabrika in Germany and Texas.

Autopilot software enhancements

“Tesla” is one of the pioneers of self-driving car technology. The company increased the price of the software from 7,000 to 10,000 last year due to numerous improvements.

In this race, the California company is far ahead of all rivals. In the middle of last year, its vehicles covered almost 5 billion kilometers in self-driving mode. The second on the list is “Google” with a modest 30 million.

Technological advances in the field of batteries

Batteries are a big factor in the price of electric cars. According to some estimates, they participate with about 15 percent. Therefore, lowering the production price and improving performance is crucial for market competitiveness.

During its big event, which it organized in September, the company announced several technological advances in the field of design, production and integration of batteries in vehicles, emphasizing that all that could reduce costs by 56 percent per kilowatt-hour. “Tesla” also announced plans to start the production of its own batteries, as well as entering the business of exploiting lithium, the main raw material for their production.

Soap bubble or reasonable price?

Many stock market analysts warn that, despite all these reasons, Tesla’s shares are highly overvalued. Morgan Stanley experts point out that many investors make mistakes and ignore the risks of running an automobile company, but already treat “Tesla” as a fast-growing technology company.

Although in many segments, “Tesla” still lags behind other auto giants, Musk says that the value of shares is tied to the future.

“‘Tesla’ is absurdly overestimated if you look at the past. The value of the shares represents the impact of money adjusted to the risks in the future, “Musk said more than two years ago, at a time when the value of the company was estimated at 37 billion dollars.

Source: Rts.rs

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