Tesla becomes seventh biggest company in US after five-to-one stock split

Tesla stock jumped by another 12.57% on Monday, after the five-to-one stock split announced in August by the electric car maker came into effect on Monday.

The latest surge now has the Californian car maker valued at $US464 billion, becoming the seventh largest company in the US by market cap, and worth more than Visa.

It is also worth ten times more than General Motors, nearly three times more than ExxonMobil, and some reports suggest co-founder and CEO and major shareholder Elon Musk is now worth more than Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

The stock split did not amount to a material change in holding values – because investors will now see five times the number of shares in their portfolios – but the reduction in the face value of shares is bad news for short-sellers, particularly after the re-adjusted stock price jumped from $US444.61 ($A601.80) to close at $US498.32 ($A674.50) on Monday.

Tesla, which has a self-professed mission to”accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy”, has attracted plenty of negative attention in its short lifespan.

The Californian electric car maker and energy storage company is the most shorted stock on the Nasdaq, with more than  $US22.55 billion net against it, Market Beat reported in mid-August.

But four consecutive profitable quarters, and multiple developments in its core business including but not limited to the release of the Tesla Model Y, the opening of its third “gigafactory” in Shanghai, and new factories in Berlin, Germany and Austin, Texas, where  the Cybertruck will be made, has buoyed investors.

Tesla has bucked the economic chaos that has left most legacy car makers – except, as The Driven reported, Hyundai – reporting a mark down on returns to investors over the past year.

Instead, its values – taking yesterday’s stock split out of the equation – increased five-fold. As reported by Market Watch, it is now the seventh largest company in the US by market cap and is worth more than Visa.

With four consecutive profitable quarters under its belt, Tesla is also now a step closer to being added to the prestigious S&P500 list, just as ExxonMobil gets kicked off the 30-strong Dow Jones index for the first time in 90 years.

The next important date for Tesla watchers will be Battery Day, at which it is expected Tesla will share developments in chemistry and longevity of its electric car batteries, now firmly marked on the calendar for September 22, 2020.