Tesla has become the first carmaker to be valued at $1tn after rental group Hertz said it had ordered 100,000 Tesla Model 3 sedans to electrify its fleet.
Tesla’s shares closed 12.6 per cent higher on Monday at $1,024, bringing year-to-date gains above 40 per cent and lifting the company’s market cap past $1tn.
The move came hours after Hertz announced the Tesla deal in a push to electrify its fleet of rental cars. The 100,000 vehicle order is sizeable for the carmaker, which delivered a total of 241,300 vehicles in the third quarter, a record for the company.
In a tweet on Monday afternoon, chief executive Elon Musk said it was “strange” the Hertz announcement had “moved valuation, as Tesla is very much a production ramp problem, not a demand problem”. Musk’s stake in the company is now valued at $172bn, worth more than any other carmaker except Toyota.
The blue-chip S&P 500 index rose 0.5 per cent, closing at a record high for the second time in the past three sessions against the backdrop of Tesla’s milestone valuation and the US oil price hitting its highest since 2014.
Thanks for reading FirstFT Asia. Here’s the rest of today’s news — Emily
Five more stories in the news
1. Facebook Papers: Facebook let politicians bend rules Facebook’s senior executives interfered to allow US politicians and celebrities to post whatever they wanted on its social network despite pleas from employees to stop, leaked internal documents suggest. Here are four takeaways from the leaked memos, dubbed the Facebook Papers.
Earnings: Facebook warned that its revenues in the current quarter will be knocked further by the Apple’s privacy changes, as its third-quarter revenues fell short of expectations.
2. Amnesty International to leave Hong Kong amid safety fears The human rights group, will close its Hong Kong offices after almost 40 years in the city amid concerns for its staff as Beijing cracks down on civil freedoms.
3. Sudanese military topples government Sudan’s army has dissolved the government and declared a state of emergency in what amounts to a military coup after months of tension between the civilian and military wings of the transitional ruling body.
4. UN warns climate goals are off track Global climate pledges are drastically off track and could lead to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions of nearly a fifth by 2030 if countries do not raise their ambitions, a UN analysis of national goals has warned.
5. Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin plans ‘business park’ in space The space exploration company has announced plans to launch a commercial space station into low-earth orbit in the latter half of this decade. Blue Origin, and its main partner on the project, Sierra Space, said it would house up to 10 people in an area of about 30,000 cubic feet.
Coronavirus digest
Hong Kong has been told that its status as an international financial centre is at risk because of “highly restrictive” coronavirus policies that stifle foreign travel.
International travellers that have received any vaccine authorised by the World Health Organization will be allowed to enter the US from November 8.
Coronavirus infections are rising once again across Europe as governments rush to roll out booster shots and increase anti-Covid measures.
The BioNTech/Pfizer and Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccines are associated with seven rare neurological complications, according to the most comprehensive study of the side effects from the two jabs.
Ruchir Sharma, Morgan Stanley Investment Management’s chief global strategist, says aggressive monetary and fiscal intervention have added nothing discernible to the economic recovery in emerging markets.
The day ahead
Wedding of Japan’s Princess Mako The niece of Japan’s emperor will marry her non-royal fiancé, Kei Komuro, today. In keeping with Japanese rules Mako’s marriage will strip her of imperial family status and leave her to live as a commoner.
Big Tech earnings On another big day for Big Tech, Alphabet, Microsoft and Twitter will report earnings. Other companies outside of tech sharing results today include Hyundai, Visa, 3M, General Electric, pharmaceuticals Eli Lilly and Novartis, and airlines JetBlue and Royal KPN. List our full list here.
What else we’re reading
The dangerous private capital party The frenzied boom in private markets is one of the biggest trends in the global money management industry. It will leave many investors bitterly disappointed and could ultimately cause wider, long-term economic problems, writes Robin Wigglesworth.
Life in China’s high-tech penal colony Darren Byler’s field study of Xinjiang evokes the shadow of concentration camps — with the added cruelty of a 21st-century surveillance system. In his book In the Camps, the anthropologist argues that the camp system is, at minimum, of a scale and degree of cruelty beyond all obvious contemporary parallels.
Israel breaks out of its global isolation A technology boom and geopolitical change are helping the Jewish state to expand its horizons, writes Gideon Rachman. The mood of buoyant optimism among the country’s political and business leaders is striking.
Mozambique reels from ‘tuna bond’ scandal The admission of fraud in Mozambique’s $2bn “tuna bond” scandal put Credit Suisse in the spotlight last week, but the corruption in one of the world’s poorest countries has been on lurid display in the African nation’s biggest ever graft trial.
Picasso auction reveals Vegas shift from gambling to ‘experience’ The sale of the 1938 portrait of Picasso’s muse Marie-Thérèse Walter — Femme au Béret Rouge-Orange — for $40.5m was the centrepiece of an unusual auction in Las Vegas over the weekend. On sale were 11 works by the Spanish painter previously owned by Bellagio owner MGM Resorts.
Books
FT writers nominate their most awe-inspiring bookshops, from Mumbai to Buenos Aires.
Source: Economy - ft.com
