In a major milestone on Monday, Tesla, Inc., officially became the largest U.S. auto maker by market value, surpassing the decades-long leader, 109-year-old General Motors. Not long after the market’s opening, the 14-year-old Silicon Valley car company saw its shares reach a trading value of $313.73, pushing its market cap to $51.17 billion and eclipsing GM’s.
This moment comes amidst seismic shifts in driving habits and expectations, like the embrace of greener, electric vehicles, and soon-to-be self-driving cars. Tesla has said they will unveil the electric-powered Model 3 sedan later this year, which they believe could become the fastest selling luxury vehicle in the country. Meanwhile, long-established automakers like GM and Ford are ramping up their innovation and technology to remain competitive.
Still, Tesla’s prospects—and market expectations for the company—keep going up. Shares in the company rose 40% this year, as reported by the Wall Street Journal has announced it plans on building 500,000 cars in the coming year—a major leap from the 84,000 it produced in 2016. But even if Tesla does reaches its ambitious sales goal, it will still lag far behind GM, which sold more than 3 million vehicles worldwide in 2016.
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