By Market Capitalization, Tesla Beats Out Ford As Second Place Automaker

Should Michigan’s automakers be looking in their collective rear view mirrors at upstart Tesla? Maybe.

California-based Tesla, thanks to a stock run up today of nearly 7 percent, surpassed Ford in market cap according to MarketWatch.

Per MarketWatch:

The surge came after Tesla on Sunday reported preliminary first-quarter deliveries that came in on the higher end of analysts’ expectations, which the market took as a sign the company is on track to launch the Model 3, the company’s mass-market sedan, later this year as expected.

Tesla stock is up nearly 37 percent this year.

Now it’s important to note that investors are often excited by potential returns, and Ford is a blue chip stock with not a lot of room to grow in the fast manner that some investors like.

Tesla, being the smaller outfit in market share, has more potential short-term upside.

CNBC reports:

Tesla shares surged as high as $294.15, blowing past a prior high of $291.42, set on Sept. 4, 2014, and pushing Tesla’s market capitalization past that of Ford. Tesla’s market cap is now about $47.8 billion, while Ford’s sits at about $44.8 billion.

It’s important to give scale here. Tesla expects to deliver 47,000 to 50,000 vehicles in the first six months of this year. Meanwhile, Ford sold 236,250 vehicles in the month of March alone.

At the end of 2016, even though Tesla can’t sell cars in Michigan due to laws that protect car dealerships, they opened a gallery in the Somerset Collection.

In other automotive news, sales of Ford fell 7 percent in March compared to last year, Fiat-Chrysler fell 5 percent, and General Motors was up 1.6 percent.