Chris Bryant, Columnist

Tesla's $200 Billion Question Remains Unanswered

Sales growth would help investors get more comfortable with the recent massive jump in the electric carmaker's valuation.

July 23, 2020 at 6:35 AM UTC

By Chris Bryant

Chris Bryant is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering industrial companies in Europe. Previously, he was a reporter for the Financial Times.

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You know Tesla Inc. is maturing as a carmaker when it manages to be slightly dull. Wednesday evening’s earnings update was even more eagerly anticipated than usual after the recent surge in its share price. Elon Musk’s company has added an astonishing $200 billion to its already ample market capitalization since the end of March.

Confirmation that Tesla will add a second U.S. factory, in Austin, Texas, is certainly something to celebrate — especially for the workers it will employ there to build its Cybertruck and other products. So too is a fourth consecutive quarter of net profit, which may prompt the company’s inclusion in the S&P500.