Tesla has surpassed GM’s market cap today to become the most valuable U.S. automaker as measured by the stock market’s standards, TechCrunch is reporting. The company’s stock price has been on a rise ever since its report that both car production and car deliveries were up during the first quarter of the year.
In contrast, many established U.S. automakers had bad news to report for first quarter vehicle sales in the region, which has made Tesla look like a strong growth stock, while leaving its competitors looking like stable performers at best. The company has been readying to launch its Model 3 electric vehicle, with a price tag starting at $35,000 U.S. before tax incentives for green vehicles.
Tesla’s stock is buoyed in large part by its potential. So far, it seems on target to meet its goal of beginning shipment this year, and even delivering some of the first vehicles by the end of 2017.
Tesla was trading up around 1.8% as of this writing, with a stock price of $303.89 per share and a total market cap of $53.06 billion, while GM was tracking at around $34.40 per share, with a total market cap of $49.80 billion.
Demand for Tesla’s upcoming Model 3 has been incredibly strong, with 373,000 pre-orders as of May last year.
