Investing.com – Tesla shares hit a new all-time high intraday on Monday, after the electric car manufacturer said it had delivered 25,418 cars in the first quarter of 2017, a record for the company.
Shares of Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) rose 6.91% to 297.69, a new all-time intraday high and remained on track to close at a record high, as investors’ confidence grew that company would meet its target of delivering 47,000 to 50,000 Model S and Model X vehicles, respectively, in the first of the year.
Tesla chief, Elon Musk took to twitter to hit back at short sellers, who betting against Tesla’s ambitions growth targets amid manufacturing setbacks in 2015 and 2016.
The record setting day for Tesla shares, pushed the company’s market cap beyond $47 billion, making it the second most valuable carmaker, above Ford but behind leader General Motors (NYSE:GM), which boasts a market cap of nearly $51 billion.
The upbeat sales data raised expectations for the Model 3 - Tesla’s more affordable sedan, set to launch later this year.
The electric car company noted in a letter to shareholders in February, that its Model 3 sedan is on track to begin production in July and expects to ramp production to exceed 5000 Model 3 vehicles per week at "some point in the fourth quarter" of this year and reach 10,000 vehicles per week in 2018.
Tesla’s plan to launch the Model 3 Sedan, which is priced at around $35,000, represents a significant opportunity to carve out a larger share of the automotive market, as its cars have traditionally served the luxury niche of the market.