Shares of Tesla Inc. have been on a tear since December 19 and it's mostly because of good news coming out of China. On the 19th, Tesla shares spiked to $400 for the first time on news Tesla would deliver its first Model 3 sedans assembled at the new Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai within the year. This historic event occurred on December 30 when 15 Model 3 sedans were delivered to Giga Shanghai employees.
On the 23rd, Tesla shares hit a new record high of $422.01 in the afternoon before closing at $419.22, up 3.36 percent from its opening price of $411.78. Tesla's market cap at trading day's end stood at $75.56 billion.
And this Monday, Tesla's shares closed at $414.70, down 3.6% from Friday after opening at $428.79 and reaching a high of $429.00. Tesla's market cap hit $74.75 billion -- its highest thus far.
The string of Wall Street records being set by Tesla is opening speculation as to when Tesla will become a trillion-dollar firm the likes of Apple Inc., which had a market cap Monday of $1.3 trillion, and Microsoft Corporation with a market value of $1.2 trillion. But Tesla's current record market cap of $75.56 billion pales in comparison to Apple's and Microsoft's.
Undeterred by this temporary fact is Galileo Russell, the bespectacled and bearded founder of HyperChange LLC. This firm operates a television network, HyperChangeTV, which releases online videos about economics, finance, and sustainability. Russell himself disclaims being a financial advisor on his company's broadcasts.
"I do think we're looking at a trillion-dollar company in the long run," said Russell to Yahoo Finances On the Move.
Russell, who owns Tesla stock, points out Tesla isn't only about electric vehicles (EVs). The company is also one of the world's leading battery makers. Russell says Tesla leads in battery technology (a huge revenue earner) and autonomous driving software. These technologies give Tesla what Russell calls a first-mover advantage over other car makers in China.
Like many other pundits, Russell was surprised Tesla was able to deliver its first EVs assembled in China this year. Groundbreaking for Giga Shanghai only took place in January 2019.
"Even bullish investors like myself didn't think they were going to start delivering cars from this factory in 2019. They built this from scratch in literally a year," said Russell.
Russell also pointed out Tesla just received a $1.6 billion line of credit from the Chinese government. It's also tailoring Model 3 for the Chinese market by adding Tencent video to its touch screens and unique software for Chinese buyers.
