Elon Musk says Tesla (TSLA) could soon be worth more than Apple (APPL), and the company is putting its money behind this position with a $5 to $10 billion share buyback.
Today, Tesla released its Q3 2022 financial results. The automaker delivered a small miss on revenue-based on expectations, but it beat earnings expectations.
Tesla has been having a hard time on the stock market over the last few months, and the Q3 results didn’t help.
After the release of the results, Tesla held a conference call with analysts during which CEO Elon Musk took the microphone in a clear attempt to calm investors. The CEO started out by announcing that Tesla’s board has discussed a share buyback program, and it is in agreement that it would make sense to proceed with a $5 to $10 billion share buyback.
A share buyback program consists of a company buying its own shares at the market price. It’s generally a sign that the company believes its stock is undervalued and is a way to boost the stock price.
Musk did say that the plan hasn’t been finalized, but it looks like Tesla is going to be moving forward with a share buyback program soon.
After announcing the buyback program, the CEO commented on Tesla’s valuation:
A while ago, I said on an earnings call that I thought it was possible for Tesla to be worth more than Apple, which was worth about $700 billion at the time.
Tesla is now worth about $700 billion based on its market capitalization.
Now Musk has a new goal for Tesla’s valuation:
Now I’m of the opinion that we can far exceed Apple’s current market cap. I see a path for Tesla to be worth more than Apple and Saudi Aramco combined.
Apple is now worth $2.3 trillion, and Saudi Aramco is worth about $2 trillion.
The CEO also emphasized that even in a bad recession, Tesla could still generate “meaningful cash” next year. Hence his belief that it would make sense to initiate a share buyback program.
Musk also added that while it would take a lot of work, great execution, and some luck to achieve Apple and Aramco’s valuation, but he doesn’t include Tesla Optimus, the company’s planned humanoid robot, in that valuation.
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