Courtesy of Tesla, Inc.
Tesla shares surged to a new all-time high on Tuesday afternoon, marking another major milestone for the electric vehicle maker in what has already been a banner year for the stock. The stock officially hit a record price of $489.20 during trading, pushing the company’s market capitalization to roughly $1.63 trillion.
At the time of writing, shares were trading even higher at $489.88, with the session’s peak touching $490.58. The rally extends Tesla’s powerful rebound in 2025 and reflects growing investor confidence across several fronts, from autonomy to long-term growth prospects.
The timing of the surge is notable. Just days ago, Tesla began testing fully autonomous Robotaxis in Austin, Texas, running an “unsupervised” version of its Full Self-Driving software. Unlike previous trials, these vehicles are operating without a safety driver or in-car monitor, a step many see as a critical leap toward commercial autonomy. The news has further energized bullish sentiment around Tesla’s AI and software ambitions.
Tesla’s stock performance throughout 2025 has been nothing short of stellar. Shares surged past $450 for the first time this year ahead of the company’s third-quarter delivery report in October, as optimism around demand and margins returned. That momentum has continued into year-end, with Tesla now setting fresh records.
Adding to investor confidence was CEO Elon Musk’s decision in September to purchase $1 billion worth of Tesla shares on the open market — his first such purchase in more than five years. The move was widely interpreted as a strong vote of confidence in Tesla’s long-term trajectory, particularly at a time when the company was accelerating investments in AI, autonomy, and manufacturing.
Last month, Tesla shareholders also approved Musk’s historic $1 trillion pay package. The compensation plan, one of the most ambitious ever proposed — if not the most ambitious — requires Musk to grow Tesla’s market capitalization to $8.5 trillion to unlock its full value. While that target remains far off, Tesla’s current valuation surge shows investors are at least willing to entertain the scale of Musk’s ambitions.
With Robotaxi testing underway, autonomy advancing rapidly, and shares now trading at record highs, Tesla is once again reminding the market why it remains one of the most closely watched — and debated — stocks in the world.
