The rally in Tesla’s shares has lifted the overall stock market value of Elon Musk’s electric carmaker to over $1.1tn, making it one of the most valuable companies in the world. This year alone it has added almost $475bn in market capitalisation, equal to a Procter & Gamble, a JPMorgan — or two McDonald’s.
However, the real importance and wider footprint of what might be called the “Tesla-financial complex” far outstrips the company’s market capitalisation. This is thanks to a vast, tangled web of dependent investment vehicles, corporate emulators and an enormous associated derivatives market of unparalleled breadth, depth and hyperactivity.
Combined, these factors mean Tesla’s influence over the ebb and flow of the stock market is far greater than even its size would imply. It may even be historically unrivalled in its wider impact, some analysts say.