Tesla Stock: Elon Musk's Company Almost Worth As Much As Ford Motor Company

Ford was around for 100 years before Tesla came on the auto scene, and Ford was being publicly traded for 54 years before Tesla went public, yet the two companies are worth almost the same, reports BuzzFeed.

Wednesday afternoon Ford was sitting at $46.6 billion and Tesla was close behind at $45.2 billion. Both companies are chasing General Motors, the highest valued auto company in the United States.

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While Tesla vehicles are expensive they feature some of the most advanced renewable energy technology in the world and represent the future of electric cars, while Ford offers more affordable and traditional vehicles. Offering the traditional will work in Ford’s favor as long as gas prices stay low and they can continue to sell their larger vehicles that are more rugged and versatile than what Tesla has to offer.

Ford has faced some challenges though with stock falling over the last year. Decreasing confidence in the company from investors coupled with Tesla gaining investors could pose a threat to Ford as the number two company.

Tesla recently received funding from the Chinese company Tencent, a tech and gaming company that is worth more than $250 billion. But that’s not to say Tesla hasn’t also faced bumps in the road. The company acquired SolarCity in November in a merge that was supposed to help alleviate SolarCity’s more than $3 billion in debt, a risk for Tesla to take on but Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk is SolarCity CEO, Lyndon Rive’s cousin.

While both companies have their challenges Ford may need to step up its electric game in the future if it hopes to compete with Tesla’s innovation.