Tesla hit a new record close at $489.88 after rising 3.1% on Tuesday

Tesla is back in full swing as its stock (TSLA) closed at $489.88 on Tuesday, a new all-time high and the second straight day of breaking records.

Tesla surged by 3.1% in Tuesday’s session, pushing its year-to-date jump to 21% after a 36% crash in the first quarter, which was its worst drop since 2022.

The old intraday high was $488.54, set almost a year ago, and the previous record close came in at $479.86.

A spark hit the market after Elon Musk said Tesla had been testing driverless vehicles in Austin with no one inside, almost six months after the company launched an early program that still required safety drivers.

That comment alone pushed traders to pile in again. With the stock rising, the company’s valuation reached $1.63 trillion, placing it seventh among public giants behind Nvidia, Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta. It even passed Broadcom.

Elon’s net worth now stands near $684 billion, according to Forbes, which puts him more than $430 billion ahead of Google co-founder Larry Page. Investors who remain optimistic say the tests in Austin could finally point toward the long-promised upgrade that would turn regular cars into robotaxis.

Tesla faces political heat and sales trouble

Elon said the company still has a lot to do before those automated systems reach the wider public.

The vehicles being tested are not available to normal buyers, and many questions about safety remain open. The company’s year has also been shaped by politics.

Elon joined President Donald Trump’s White House at the start of the year to run the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). His task was to push for large cuts to federal agencies and reduce regulations. That move looked like a win for Tesla at first, but it did not stay that way.

Elon’s loud involvement in global far-right politics and his public attacks online triggered a consumer backlash.

That backlash cut into Tesla’s reputation and its sales numbers. The company reported a 13% drop in deliveries and a 20% fall in automotive revenue in the first quarter.

The stock rallied in the second quarter, but revenue kept sliding, with auto sales down 16%. The second half of the year finally brought some relief.

In October, Tesla said its third-quarter revenue rose 12% as U.S. buyers rushed to buy EVs and use a federal tax credit before it expired in late September. The stock gained 40% that quarter, giving shareholders something to smile about again.

Tesla works through revenue loss and tougher rivals

The environment is still tough, though, as the loss of the tax credit is hitting demand because Elon’s political presence continues to bother parts of the consumer base. Competition is growing fast, especially from BYD and Xiaomi in China and Volkswagen in Europe.

Tesla tried to respond in October by releasing cheaper versions of the Model Y and Model 3, but those trims have not boosted sales in the U.S. or Europe.

In the U.S., they seem to be eating into demand for Tesla’s higher-priced cars. Data from Cox Automotive shows Tesla’s November sales sank to a four-year low.

Even with all the pressure, analysts at Mizuho raised their Tesla price target from $475 to $530 this week, though they did keep their buy call and wrote that recent gains in Tesla’s FSD (Supervised) software “could support an accelerated expansion” of its “robotaxi fleet in Austin, San Francisco, and potentially earlier elimination of the chaperone.”

Tesla already runs a Robotaxi-branded ride-hailing service in Texas and California, but drivers or human supervisors still sit inside every vehicle.