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Tesla nears $100 billion market cap, closes in on Volkswagen as 2nd most valuable automaker in world
Tesla quietly crept up the $100 billion market capitalization mark in extended trading hours on Tuesday. Tesla stock was pegged at $547.20 at the end of the trading day but saw an increase to $555 in after-hours trading, pushing the all-electric carmaker’s valuation to $100 billion.
This further widens Tesla’s lead as the most valuable automaker in the US. It also puts the Elon Musk-led electric car company close to dethroning Volkswagen ($100.59 billion) as the second most valuable car company in the world. Toyota currently holds the title as the world’s most valuable automaker at $232 billion.
The highly anticipated jump into the $100 billion threshold comes as Tesla shares soared more than 7 percent on Tuesday, following one analyst’s bullish predictions.
In a note to investors, New Street analyst Pierre Ferragu raised his 12-month price target to $800, up from an initial target of $530.
The analyst believes Tesla will be able to deliver 2 to 3 million cars annually by 2025 and anticipates “industry-leading margins” that will raise stock prices to $1,100 to $1,700 per share and propel Tesla’s market cap to $250 to $530 billion.
Tesla just traded as a $100 billion company for the first time (in after-hours trading) $tsla pic.twitter.com/tRfr3Q6aZk
— Tom Randall (@tsrandall) January 21, 2020
Most valuable automaker in the US
Tesla crossing the $100 billion barrier is the latest in a series of financial gains for the carmaker. It follows last week’s record-breaking achievement as Tesla surged past Ford’s record $81 billion valuation in 1999.
Although the numbers do not account for inflation and debt, this remains an impressive feat for Elon Musk, who led the company from its early days in 2003 to become the arguably most disruptive company in automotive history. Investors who have stayed with the carmaker since its initial public offering in 2010 have seen their investments increase by 1,100 percent.
Currently, Tesla’s valuation is near the value of the Big Three combined: Ford at $36.64 billion, General Motors at $49.99 billion, and Fiat-Chrysler at $21.38 billion.
Continued growth leading to gains
The most recent win comes hot on the heels of Tesla’s debut of the Made-in-China Model 3. Musk himself flew to Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai, China to personally deliver the first locally made Model 3 to the first Chinese customers. He also formally announced a Model Y program in the country.
Gigafactory 4 is also poised to rise in Brandenburg, Germany. Tesla recently announced its board of directors has approved the purchase contract for a 300-hectare property in Grunheide that will serve as the site for its fourth electric vehicle factory.
Tesla’s Q4 2019 report also spiked investor optimism as the company announced it has delivered 119,000 vehicles from October to December last year. This boosts Tesla’s annual deliveries to 367,500 vehicles in 2019, up by more than 50 percent from 2018.
Tesla just told us twice that the Model Y L is coming to the U.S., and two social media posts definitely just tipped the company’s hand, as if they wanted it to be any other way.
The two social media posts basically confirm that the slightly longer version of the Model Y will be heading to the United States soon, and many have speculated that the company could launch the vehicle as soon as this weekend.
The first post was directly from Tesla, and it showed an incredibly long Dachshund, with words above that said, “Looking forward to the long weekend.”
Looking forward to the long weekend pic.twitter.com/URzH6zOUdn
— Tesla (@Tesla) July 1, 2026
Anyone who knows Tesla knows the company loves to troll its fans and have fun, and this is a perfect example of that. While not a direct acknowledgement, Tesla is very involved on social media, especially CEO Elon Musk’s platform X, and the company is well aware of what is being discussed within the community.
With recent sightings of Model Y L test mules in California, peeks of the vehicle at Giga Texas, and a large call for the car to come to the U.S., Tesla is simply stoking conversation with this.
However, the company also made another move that was recognized on social media. Tesla has a large gallery that includes photos of its products so media and others can use them. This gallery applies to the U.S. market specifically, unless otherwise specified.
Tesla uploaded a Model Y L to the Gallery last night:
This looks like a Model Y L https://t.co/TpnBwrLmH9
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 2, 2026
This seems to be another indication that the Model Y L is coming to the United States.
Musk said last year that the Model Y L could make its way to the United States late this year, but it was not something that was set in stone by Tesla. The company definitely needs to establish something in the SUV market that is larger than the Model Y, and the Model Y L might be the answer.
Even still, there are consumers out there who would love Tesla to develop something even larger, like a competitor to the Tahoe or Expedition. Tesla has not really given much of an indication that it will go in that direction.
Tesla is using the vehicles’ internal microphones to improve build quality, Vice President of Engineering Lars Moravy revealed recently.
It’s no secret that Tesla is always finding ways to make its manufacturing operations more efficient, accurate, and valuable. Constantly trying to make its cars better, the company has never placed any restrictions on what it will do to improve everything from panel gaps to paint.
As Teslas have been driving autonomously on the property of the Gigafactory Texas plant for a while now, Moravy revealed to Herbert Ong in a new interview that cars rolling off production lines now autonomously navigate themselves through a bumps, squeaks, and rattles (BSR) portion of the line. This helps to identify any loose or improperly installed internal parts.
The cabin’s microphones, which are used for a variety of things in ownership, simultaneously monitor any noises inside the vehicle while it rolls through the BSR portion of the production line. Moravy actually revealed that Tesla is trying to build “Full Self-Hearing,” an AI system that will detect minor imperfections so they can be corrected before delivery.
It’s no secret that build quality is something that Tesla struggled with as it scaled to a fully massive production operation that manufactures over 1.6 million vehicles per year. However, in recent years, especially, there have not been as many complaints. Tesla has truly improved upon its build quality and paint quality over the past several years, especially in the U.S.
Tesla’s ‘megacasts’ are key to massive build quality improvements
While those improvements have been evident, there are still some complaints; no automaker is perfect with this. But this step will now ensure that every single car that rolls off the production lines at Gigafactory Texas will be void of any creaks, squeaks, or squeals when it leaves the factory.
This measure is one of the most unique we’ve seen in terms of a strategy to avoid build quality issues, but it is not exclusive to Tesla.
Ford uses acoustic analysis AI to find abnormalities in seat motors, climate control units, and other components. Suppliers and OEMs will also use microphone arrays or particle velocity sensors in end-of-line stations.
The full interview with Lars Moravy is available below:
🚨 If you’re a Tesla investor, this is one interview you don’t want to skip. The full video posted below.
Jeff Lutz @thejefflutz and I sat down with Tesla VP of Engineering Lars Moravy, and it was packed with insights!
A few of the biggest takeaways:
• Cybercab is expected to… pic.twitter.com/fhYSr2dCqP
— Herbert Ong (@herbertong) July 1, 2026
Investor's Corner
Tesla crushes Wall Street expectations, beats delivery estimates by over 15 percent
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) beat Wall Street expectations of 406,000 vehicles delivered in Q2 by reporting 480,126 deliveries for the three months ending in June.
Tesla reported it delivered 467,762 Model 3 and Model Y units, while 12,364 Model S, Model X, and Cybertrucks switched hands during the quarter. The Model S and Model X were officially sunset this past quarter and will no longer be part of the company’s Production & Delivery reports moving forward.
🚨 BREAKING: Tesla delivered 480,126 vehicles in Q2, ANNIHILATING Wall Street expectations of 406,000. Production was reported at 451,758.
Deliveries:
Model 3/Y: 467,762
Other Models: 12,364Production:
Model 3/Y: 442,936
Other Models: 8,822 https://t.co/TTHwQAsKt8 pic.twitter.com/7qI4Zj6FE5— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 2, 2026
The quarter is a pleasant surprise and a good rebound from Q1, when Tesla slightly missed the Wall Street consensus of 365,645 cars by reporting 358,023 deliveries for the first three motnhs of the year.
Energy storage deployments also provided some strength in Tesla’s delivery report, hitting 13.5 GWh for Q2. This is a particular division of Tesla’s business that has been overwhelmingly robust over the past few years, truly being a strong point of the company’s overall model.
For the year, Tesla analysts still predict deliveries to trend in the 1.69 million unit region, a modest 3 to 5 percent increase from the 1.64 million cars the company delivered last year. Tesla will likely return to more sequential and noticeable year-over-year growth as the Cybercab project starts to ramp up considerably in the next few years.
Tesla has some other potential catalysts to spur vehicle deliveries, too. Not only is it expecting Cybercab to truly start making a change in the next few years, but other vehicles could be entering the company’s lineup.
Tesla sends production Cybercab with no steering wheel, pedals to on-road testing
The slightly longer Model Y L has been a highly speculated release candidate in the U.S. It has already done incredibly well in China, and U.S. buyers have been wanting slightly more interior space than the Model Y. Now that the Model X is gone, it is more needed than ever.
Q2 highlights a pretty stable automotive division within Tesla, and no true concerns arise from these figures, especially considering it managed to beat expectations convincingly.
Tesla just told us twice that Model Y L is coming to the U.S.
Tesla is using vehicle microphones to improve build quality: here’s how
