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Tesla (TSLA) makes largest 12-day gain in the history of capital markets: report

Tesla Model Y body shop in Gigafactory Texas. (Credit: Tesla)

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Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) as a company is no stranger to doing things that were widely thought of as impossible. It made the stigmatized segment of electric vehicles exciting with cars like the original Roadster and the Model S. It also proved that battery production is the next great frontier with projects such as Gigafactory Nevada. 

And with Tesla stock’s recent rampage in the market, the EV maker has done what could very well have seemed impossible just a few years ago — it made the biggest 12-day gain in the history of capital markets by adding almost $400 billion to its market cap. The feat, which was recently highlighted in a Fortune article, was something that not even Tesla’s peers in the trillion-dollar club have accomplished in the recent past. 

Tesla shares were on a wild surge as of late, with the company going on a tear following its impressive Q3 2021 earnings results on October 20. Just two days after that date, Tesla touched the $1 trillion valuation mark for the first time. News of car rental giant Hertz’s decision to purchase 100,000 Teslas in a $4.2 billion deal then pushed TSLA shares to a one-day gain of 13%, ending the day at $1,025 a share. 

Despite Elon Musk later clarifying that the Hertz deal has “zero effect” on Tesla’s economics since the car rental giant would be buying the vehicles at full price, momentum from the contract effectively boosted TSLA stock to an all-time record close of $1,209 per share on November 1. Tesla’s massive surge ultimately saw the company’s market cap growing from $818 billion to $1.2 trillion, an increase of about $392 billion, in just 12 days. 

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Tesla is a newcomer in the trillion-dollar club, and each of the four companies that stand above the EV maker has experienced its own surges in the past. Apple, for example, saw a 17% bull run from June 7 to July 19 of this year, which allowed the company’s market cap to swell to $2.4 trillion. This run, however, took nearly three times as long as Tesla’s recent rampage, and it was about $50 billion short compared to the EV maker’s 12-day run. 

Microsoft’s closest runs came over 20 days from September 27 to October 25, when the tech giant surged by 11.4% and added $225 billion to its market cap. A 15% increase over the 15 days from January 11 to February 8 also resulted in the company adding $240 billion to its market cap. Amazon, for its part, saw a 9.4% surge over nine days from June 21 to July 5 that resulted in a valuation rise of $165 billion. Lastly, Alphabet got its quickest boost over 25 days from March 22 to April 26, when its shares surged 18%, adding $240 billion to the company’s valuation. 

What is interesting is that even with Elon Musk’s comments about the Hertz deal not being finalized — and TSLA stock dropping 3.1% in the process — the event only erased about 12 billion from the company’s $392 billion, 12-day advance. If one were to consider this selloff, Tesla would still be particularly impressive, with the company ranking first for a 14-day surge. Overall, Tesla seems poised to set records in the segments it touches, and its stock, which now seems to sit comfortably within the trillion-dollar club, might very well do the same. 

Disclaimer: I am long TSLA.

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Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Elon Musk

The Tesla and SpaceX merger everyone is talking about is quietly building

Tesla and SpaceX may be closer to merging than Wall Street or either company is admitting.

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Elon Musk has reportedly discussed merging Tesla and SpaceX with people close to him, according to CNBC, which cited sources familiar with the conversation. Tesla employees have long expected such a transaction and the topic is openly discussed internally, according to internal sources. With SpaceX is days away from kicking off its Wall Street roadshow for what could be the largest IPO in market history, this would be the first time the company will have public market currency to execute a stock-for-stock deal with Tesla.

The financial logic for a merger would make sense. A combined SpaceX and Tesla would create a conglomerate spanning rockets, satellites, electric vehicles, AI infrastructure, and energy storage valued at roughly $3.35 trillion to $3.6 trillion based on SpaceX’s IPO target range and Tesla’s current market capitalization. The two companies are already more intertwined than most people realize. SpaceX bought $697 million worth of Tesla Megapack systems for xAI data centers and $131 million worth of Cybertrucks. Tesla invested $2 billion in xAI, which subsequently merged with SpaceX. Past transactions also include Tesla selling solar equipment and parts to SpaceX, and SpaceX helping with Cybertruck materials.

Will Tesla join the fold? Predicting a triple merger with SpaceX and xAI

Musk himself signaled where this was heading in November 2025 when he posted on X, “My companies are, surprisingly in some ways, trending towards convergence.” Tesla and SpaceX announced a joint semiconductor fabrication facility in Austin called Terafab on the Gigafactory Texas campus, covering two advanced chip factories, with one serving Tesla’s AI needs for vehicles and Optimus robots, the other targeting space-based data centers under SpaceX’s infrastructure vision.

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives places the probability of a merger at 80% to 90% with a target completion in the first half of 2027. The mechanics of a deal became possible the moment SpaceX filed its S-1. Legal experts said a merger likely would not spark antitrust issues but would raise concerns among shareholders in each company, with questions around which company would be the parent, how a stock swap would take place, and who determines the appropriate price. Musk holds about 20% of Tesla’s equity but controls 85.1% of SpaceX’s voting power through a super-voting share class, meaning he would largely be negotiating the terms with himself.

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Not everyone is convinced the timing is imminent. Traders on Kalshi place only 33% odds that a merger will happen before May 2027. The more immediate concern for Tesla shareholders is whether the SpaceX IPO pulls capital and Musk’s attention away from Tesla before any merger consolidates the upside for both.

What is clear is that the structural groundwork is already being laid. The Terafab announcement, the xAI merger, the shared supply chain, the cross-company balance sheet transactions, and now the IPO all point in the same direction. Whether the merger follows in 2027 or later, the two companies are already operating more like divisions of a single entity than independent competitors.

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Elon Musk

SpaceX just filed for the IPO everyone was waiting for

SpaceX filed its public S-1, revealing $18.7 billion in revenue and billions in losses.

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SpaceX publicly filed its S-1 registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 20, 2026, making its financial details available to the public for the first time ahead of what could be the largest IPO in history.

An S-1 is the formal document a company must submit to the SEC before going public. It includes audited financials, risk factors, business descriptions, and how the company plans to use the money it raises. Companies are required to file one before selling shares to the public, and it must be published at least 15 days before the investor roadshow begins. SpaceX had already submitted a confidential draft to the SEC in April, which allowed regulators to review the filing privately before it went public.

The S-1 reveals that SpaceX generated $18.7 billion in consolidated revenue in 2025, driven largely by its Starlink satellite internet division, which posted $11.4 billion in revenue, growing nearly 50% year over year. Despite that growth, the company lost about $4.9 billion in 2025 and has burned through more than $37 billion since its founding.

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A significant portion of those losses trace back to xAI, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, which was recently merged into SpaceX. SpaceX directed roughly 60% of its capital spending in 2025 to its AI division, totaling around $20 billion, yet that division lost billions and grew revenue by only about 22%.

SpaceX plans to list its Class A common stock on Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX, with Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Bank of America leading the offering. The dual-class share structure means going public will not meaningfully reduce Musk’s control, as Class B shares he holds carry 10 votes per share compared to one vote for public Class A shares.

The company is targeting a raise of around $75 billion at a valuation of roughly $1.75 trillion, which would make it the largest IPO ever. The investor roadshow is reportedly planned for June 5.

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Elon Musk

Tesla ditches India after years of broken promises

Tesla has ditched its plans to build a factory in India after years of failed negotiations.

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Tesla’s long-running effort to establish a manufacturing presence in India is officially over. India’s Minister of Heavy Industries H.D. Kumaraswamy confirmed on May 19, 2026 that Tesla has informed authorities it will not proceed with a manufacturing facility in the country.

Tesla first signaled serious interest in India around 2021, when it began hiring local staff and lobbying the Indian government for lower import tariffs. The ask was straightforward: reduce duties enough for Tesla to test the market with imported vehicles before committing capital to a local factory. India’s position was equally firm, with an ask of Tesla to commit to manufacturing first, then receive tariff relief. Neither side moved, and the talks quietly collapsed.

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India had offered a policy that would reduce import duties from 110% down to 15% on EVs priced above $35,000, provided companies committed at least $500 million toward local manufacturing investment within three years. Tesla declined to participate. The tariff standoff was only part of the problem. Analysts pointed to significant gaps in India’s local supply chain, inadequate industrial infrastructure, and a mismatch between Tesla’s premium pricing and the purchasing power of India’s automotive market as additional factors that made the investment difficult to justify.

First signs of an unraveling relationship came in April 2024, when Musk abruptly cancelled a planned trip to India where he was set to meet Prime Minister Modi and announce Tesla’s market entry. By July 2024, Fortune reported that Tesla executives had stopped contacting Indian government officials entirely. The government at that point understood Tesla had capital constraints and no plans to invest.

The more fundamental issue is that Tesla’s existing factories are currently operating at approximately 60% capacity, making a commitment to building new manufacturing capacity in a new market difficult to defend to investors. Tesla will continue selling imported Model Y vehicles through its existing showrooms in Mumbai, Delhi, Gurugram, and Bengaluru, but local production is no longer part of the plan.

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