Risky Business

Tesla seems set on taking over the world, and after their most recent market surge, they might be on track to do it — that is, if the supposedly inflated financial bubble they’re in doesn’t, well, burst.

This month, Tesla’s market cap hit a value of $51 billion, which was higher than General Motor’s at the time and $15 billion higher than Tesla’s own value in 2016. While Elon Musk disagrees, in the eyes of many experts, the company is overvalued, perhaps dangerously so.

@ForIn2020 @waltmossberg @mims @defcon_5 Exactly. Tesla is absurdly overvalued if based on the past, but that's irrelevant. A stock price represents risk-adjusted future cash flows. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 3, 2017

Tesla will undoubtedly, as any company does, face roadblocks in new design and innovation. While they will most likely continue to produce incredibly popular, inventive, and successful vehicle models, some say the overvalued bubble in which they currently reside is heading for bursting.

Innovation Is Key

For Tesla to keep up with its upward-trending market value, they will need to continue innovating at the tremendous rate that they have been.

From designing the first autonomous semi truck to driving down the price of their electric vehicles (EVs), Tesla has been keeping pace with, and moving ahead of, customer requests and demands. However, with other EV options costing a fraction of a Tesla vehicle, the company will have to get even further ahead of the game in terms of innovation if they want to maintain their value.

Elon Musk and his team aren’t the only ones hoping for Tesla’s continued success. If Tesla were to go under or begin to fail financially, more than just a luxury car company would suffer — SpaceX, Neuralink, the Gigafactory, and more would be at risk of feeling the hit. The future of space travel and exploration, the advancement of alternative energy sources and usage, and the fight against climate change hang in the balance, so let’s all hope that this bubble doesn’t burst.