The Numbers Behind the 'New Big Three'

Having surpassed Ford as recently as last week, Tesla’s share price continued to climb on Monday, causing the company’s market cap to edge past General Motors by the end of trading on Monday. Considering the fact that Chrysler, the third of Detroit’s famous “Big Three” is no longer American-owned (it is a subsidiary of the Italian car company Fiat Chrysler), people are already starting to label Tesla, GM and Ford as the “New Big Three”.

As our chart illustrates, Tesla’s numbers don’t really match its valuation yet. The company produces a fraction of the number of vehicles that GM and Ford produce; it trails in revenue and has yet to become profitable. Tesla’s current valuation is driven by the belief that the future of mobility is electric and that the company has enough of a headstart to eventually dominate that future.