Tesla Inc. has grown from Silicon Valley gadfly to the world’s second-largest automaker by market capitalization in the decade since its initial public offering. It’s been a roller-coaster ride for the electric-car maker’s shareholders, who have experienced dizzying swoons on the way to record highs thanks in part to self-inflicted crises.
“There’s always a lot of drama with Tesla, but they have spurred the auto industry on to embrace electrification as key to the future of mobility,” said Tony Posawatz, the former leader of General Motors Co.’s Volt plug-in hybrid program, ex-CEO of Fisker and current director at Lucid Motors Inc. “Whether they are profitable or not, they have impacted the luxury auto market forever more.”
On June 29, 2010, Tesla made its debut as a public company — the first initial public offering of a domestic automaker in a half century. The IPO price was US$17 a share. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk rang the Nasdaq opening bell, and the company’s lone electric car, the US$109,000 Roadster, was on display in Times Square.
A decade later, Tesla’s stock is trading at US$959.74 a share, the company has grown to about 48,000 employees and its influence on the global auto industry is unprecedented. Despite plenty of doubters and some near-death experiences, Tesla’s US$178 billion market valuation is second only to Toyota Motor Corp. among all carmakers.
Tesla no longer makes the Roadster, but it sells four other models in markets around the world. Besides design, one of the company’s biggest advantage lies with its batteries: A version of the flagship Model S now boasts a range of more than 400 miles. No other electric car comes close.As Wall Street waits for the company to report second-quarter production and delivery figures later this week, here are 10 key moments that shaped Tesla’s extraordinary decade.In January 2010, the U.S.