Electric car manufacturer Tesla’s shares fall as it makes its debut on Wall Street’s S&P 500
Tesla shares fell yesterday as it made its debut on Wall Street’s S&P 500.
The blue-chip index measures the stock market performance of 500 of the largest public companies in the United States.
The electric car maker – which is run by billionaire Elon Musk (pictured below) – is the biggest firm to join the S&P and its shares gained 60 per cent in value after the change was announced last month. But yesterday they dropped 6.5 per cent to $650 each.
Some analysts suggested this was because a rush by tracker funds to snap up the stock before yesterday had inflated its value.
Nevertheless, Tesla’s admission to the S&P comes after huge growth in its shares, which are up by more than 600 per cent this year.
A year ago they were changing hands for about $84 each but now it is the sixth-largest company in the S&P behind the likes of Facebook.
Chris Ford, co-manager of Smith & Williamson Artificial Intelligence Fund, which holds Tesla shares, said the company has ‘so far proved the doubters and short sellers wrong’.