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Elon Musk raised eyebrows Wednesday when he told investors he sees a possibility for Tesla to eventually surpass the market capitalization of the globe’s two current richest companies combined.
With Tesla’s market cap currently at $670 billion, the company has a ways to go before reaching No. 2 Saudi Aramco’s $2.085 trillion or No. 1 Apple’s $2.37 trillion – never mind their combined value of over $4 trillion.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk told investors this week he sees a “potential path for Tesla to be worth more than Apple and Saudi Aramco combined.” (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File / AP Newsroom)
But the world’s wealthiest man is known for setting bold, ambitious goals – and he often reaches them. With that in mind, two FOX Business contributors weighed in on Musk’s chances of expanding Tesla to become the most valuable company in the world.
“In the short run, Tesla surpassing Apple’s market cap seems like a tall order,” says Steve Miran, co-founder of Amberwave Partners. “However, while Tesla has some exposure to China, predominantly as a customer, Apple’s supply chain exposure is potentially fatal.”
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Miran says the recent U.S. restrictions on semiconductors were viewed by the Chinese leadership as an assault on China’s technology crown jewels, and if the coming retaliation comes as an assault on a perceived crown jewel of American technology, Apple could be dealt a fatal blow.
“If that happens,” Miran continued, “Tesla would quickly surpass Apple’s market cap.”
Close-up of Tesla Motors logo against a bright blue sky in Pleasanton, Calif., July 23, 2018. (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Scott Martin, chief investment officer at Kingsview Wealth Management, says he isn’t surprised to hear Musk aiming high while talking about companies he wants to match or surpass given that the multi-billionaire has a proclivity for “shooting for the stars.”
He points to how Apple has made its own ecosphere with “the services, the software, the phones, music … where it’s kind of hard to get away from them once you’re in the system.”
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Martin says he thinks that is possibly what Musk is trying to emulate through his purchase of Twitter and some of his other initiatives outside Tesla – trying to gain a foothold in people’s lives.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TSLA | TESLA INC. | 214.44 | +7.16 | +3.45% |
| AAPL | APPLE INC. | 147.27 | +3.88 | +2.71% |
| TWTER | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
But looking solely at Tesla, Martin points to how Musk has made it into not just a car company, but a battery company, a solar panel company, a technology company. He also notes that future plans that the government has with respect to electric vehicles and other green initiatives means Musk is “in the right category.”
While Tesla has dominated the electric vehicle market thus far, Martin notes that the competition is becoming fierce as major automakers jump in with less expensive models as more consumers make the switch to EVs.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, left, talks to Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, at the opening of the Tesla factory Berlin Brandenburg in Gruenheide, Germany, March 22, 2022. (Patrick Pleul/Pool via AP / AP Newsroom)
“Whether it’s Elucid or Rivian or Porsche or what have you, as they get more experienced, in theory, they should be building better cars. They should be able to get more and more efficiency, better technology,” Martin said. “The tide lifts all boats, but you’re going to need a big tide because there’s just more and more companies coming onto the scene that are doing the same thing.”
As for Tesla reaching a market cap as high as Apple’s, Martin says, “It could still happen.”
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Another thing working in Musk’s favor is his following from people who trust in the things that he does, Martin says.
“He’s got that aura to him where people just want to be involved with something he’s doing,” Martin told FOX News Digital. “He’s kind of got that allure for this innovation, where it stands out among some of the other competitors. And if he can keep that up …”
