The stock market value of the electric automaker Tesla increased on Friday to over $1 trillion for the first time since 2022, on expectations that CEO Elon Musk’s companies will get favorable treatment under President-elect Donald Trump.
Tesla’s share price rose by more than 8% on Friday alone, reaching $321.22. Since Election Day on Tuesday, it has increased by more than 25%.
“Tesla and CEO Elon Musk are perhaps the biggest winners from the election result, and we believe Trump’s victory will help expedite regulatory approval of the company’s autonomous driving technology,” said Garrett Nelson, senior equity analyst at CFRA Research.
Musk, the world’s richest person, has an estimated wealth that is now more than $300 billion, according to calculations from Forbes magazine. His wealth mainly consists of Tesla shares.
Tesla, like other electric vehicle manufacturers, is currently facing a drop-off in demand. Trump, who aims to increase oil and natural gas production, might make things even more challenging for the industry. But, analyst Dan Ives from the financial firm Wedbush Securities believes that Tesla will be an exception.
The billionaire could push for favorable regulation of autonomous vehicles that Tesla plans and also get the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to hold off on potential enforcement actions involving the safety of Tesla’s current driver-assistance systems, a source had told Reuters.
Musk has focused on self-driving vehicle technology, ditching plans to build an economy car priced at under $30,000. However, development and regulatory hurdles have delayed the commercialization of such technologies.
“If Musk can convince Trump to establish federal autonomous vehicle rules, we think that’s a good thing for the auto industry because we think firms want one set of rules rather than each state making their own,” said David Whiston, equity strategist at Morningstar.
Tesla shares jumped earlier in late October after the company reported a rise in quarterly profit margin and forecast 20% to 30% growth in deliveries next year.
Trump, prior to his reelection, had talked about giving Musk, who has no government experience, the role of reducing government spending in the new administration.
