Exxon's Market Value Exceeds Tesla for 1st Time in Year

ExxonMobil's market value exceeded Tesla for the first time in more than a year after the e-vehicle manufacturer's sales slowed.

Tesla's stock price fell 41% in a difficult start to the year, marked by renewed growth concerns, widespread job cuts, and the first year-over-year decline in sales since the early days of the pandemic. 

Tesla's stock price fell 1.9% to $147.05 per share on Friday, making it the second-worst performing stock in the S&P 500 this year. Exxon's stock price rose 1.1% in New York trading. Tesla's market value at closing amounted to about $469 billion, compared to about $475 billion for Exxon.

Meanwhile, Exxon finally halted a decade-long production decline with fast-growing oil developments in Guyana and the Permian Basin, maximizing the benefit of a 16% rise in oil prices this year.

This shift shows how the road to electric vehicle adoption is more difficult than many think. 

The rise in Exxon's price, supported by record global demand for oil, also reflects the fading movement in environmental, social and governance standards that helped lower the valuations of major oil companies during the pandemic.

Tesla's market value peaked in November, outperforming Exxon's, by nearly $1 trillion, when the stock was driven by rising deliveries, expansion in China and the promise of self-driving cars. Since then, investors have lowered their expectations for all three.