Tesla just made history, with a little help from its shareholders, as the electric carmaker's stock price topped $US500 a share on Wall Street for the first time.

Tesla shares jumped 9.8 per cent to close at $US524.86 as investors continued to throw more weight behind the company and its prospects for future growth and success.

Hitting a new record: Tesla CEO Elon Musk is happy to see short sellers burn. Credit:Xinhua

Oppenheimer analyst Colin Rusch added to the enthusiasm as he raised his price target on the stock to $US612 from $US385, saying that after many initial stumbles, the company had finally "reached critical scale sufficient to support sustainable positive free cash flow."

Mr Rusch said Tesla's high-risk tolerance, its ability to learn from past errors and bigger ambition compared to peers pose an "existential threat" to other transportation companies that are unable or unwilling to innovate at a faster pace. He maintained his buy-equivalent rating on the stock.