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(Reuters) – Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Inc crossed $500 billion in market value on Tuesday as investors lapped up its shares in the run-up to its addition to the S&P 500 index, extending a meteoric rally that has seen the stock gain more than six times this year.
Shares of the electric-car maker have risen nearly 28% since the S&P Dow Jones Indices decided to add the company to the benchmark index from Dec. 21.
Its shares rose as much as 3.9% to a record high of $542.35 in early trading, valuing the company briefly at $514 billion.
The recent rally has also boosted Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk’s net worth by $7.2 billion to $127.9 billion, helping him go past Bill Gates to become the world’s second-richest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Musk, who was ranked 35th in January, has added $100.3 billion to his net worth so far this year, according to the index.
Tesla has become by far the world’s most valuable automaker, despite a production that is a fraction of Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM) Corp, Volkswagen AG (OTC:VWAGY) or General Motors Co (NYSE:GM).
Shares of other electric vehicle (EV) makers have also risen in the last few months as President-elect Joe Biden made boosting EVs a top priority during his campaign.
“One of the core underpinnings of the Biden platform will be around pushing clean energy and zero-emissions vehicles with hopes of accelerating the deployment of electric vehicles and public charging outlets by 2030,” Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives said in a note.
