Tesla Inc.’s market value has surpassed Exxon Mobil Corp.’s in a sign that investors are increasingly betting on a global energy transition away from fossil fuels.
Elon Musk’s Tesla, now at $201 billion in market capitalization, is surging on the billionaire founder’s optimism that his company can avoid a second-quarter loss. Exxon, which dropped to $185 billion, is reeling from the worst crude-price crash in history. The largest oil company in the Western Hemisphere is preparing to cut some of its U.S. workforce.
Tesla also is on the verge of passing Toyota Motor Corp. to become the most valuable automaker in the world by market capitalization. The company topped Boeing Co. in March to become the most valuable industrial company in the U.S. and reached the No. 2 spot among automakers in January by passing Volkswagen AG.
Exxon is the world’s second biggest energy company after Saudi Aramco went public late last year. But even the status of Saudi Aramco as the world’s most valuable company is in danger now after Apple Inc. reduced the valuation gap to $150 billion, down from about $750 billion at the time of the initial public offering of the Saudi state-controlled oil giant six months ago.
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
