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Tesla shares rise to record levels as Trump wins election

Topline

Shares of Tesla rose 12% in premarket trading on Wednesday morning, sending the company's stock to a new record following Donald Trump's re-election as president, while analysts signaled a Trump victory would likely benefit Elon Musk's company .

Important facts

Shares of Tesla rose above $283 around 7:10 a.m. EST, setting a new record for the stock and surpassing the previous high of $273.54 set on October 27.

Trump praised the Tesla CEO as a “super genius” and “new star” in his victory speech early Wednesday after Musk campaigned for Trump across Pennsylvania for weeks before Election Day.

Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives wrote earlier this year that a second Trump presidency would be “negative for the electric vehicle industry overall,” although the financial services firm also saw it as a “very positive for Tesla” because of the company's “size and reach” “This is unique” in the industry.

Trump's plan to impose tariffs on Chinese imports would also prevent Tesla's Chinese rivals BYD – which at the time overtook Tesla as the world's largest electric vehicle maker – and NIO from “flooding the U.S. market in the coming years,” Ives said.

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Forbes rating

According to our latest estimates, Musk is the richest person in the world with a fortune of $265.7 billion. If Tesla's premarket surge continues, the value of Musk's stake – which totals about 13% of the company's outstanding shares – would rise by about $12.1 billion.

Important background

Musk was one of Trump's more prominent supporters during his campaign. Tesla's CEO invested at least $118 million in his America PAC to support Trump, meaning Musk was Trump's second-largest supporter after Timothy Mellon. Musk's America PAC also gave away $1 million to voters in swing states in a sweepstakes that was briefly halted by a Philadelphia court. In September, Trump said he would create a “Government Efficiency Commission,” first proposed by Musk, who indicated he would lead the agency. During the election cycle, Musk appeared alongside Trump at several rallies and supported his campaign on social media. Trump has said he is a “big fan” of electric vehicles, although he said at a previous rally not to “worry about the electric vehicles” and claimed in a March interview that the vehicles “cost too much.” and all “made in China” would become China.”

Further reading

ForbesTrump praises Elon Musk as a “super genius” in his victory speech – ahead of his likely election victoryFrom Siladitya RayForbesHere's how a Trump presidency could help Tesla shares despite his dire plans for electric vehicles, an analyst saysFrom Derek Saul

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