Elon Musk told The New York Times thatTesla 's stock price is high, but he thinks the electric-vehicle company will be "worth more than this" in five years.- "If you ask me, do I think if Tesla will be worth more than this in five years? I think the answer is yes," the Tesla CEO said in a Monday episode of the Times' Sway podcast.
- Musk also addressed Tesla's stock pullback after last week's "battery day" failed to meet Wall Street's expectations.
- "My premise is never to try to convince people why they should invest in Tesla. Sell your stock, I don't care," he said.
- Shares of Tesla rose as much as 5% during Monday trading. The stock is up roughly 400% year-to-date.
- Watch Tesla trade live here.
Elon Musk said that Tesla's
"I think some critical mass of the market has concluded that Tesla will win, I guess. I mean I've gone on record already saying I think the stock price is a bit high, and that was well before the current level," the Tesla CEO said. "But also if you ask me, do I think if Tesla will be worth more than this in five years? I think the answer is yes."
Tesla is trading 760% higher than it was 12 months ago. The stock is up roughly 400% year-to-date. It currently has a market capitalization of over $380.2 billion — larger than Ford, GM, and Fiat combined.
Shares of the electric-vehicle company have been sensitive to Musk's public comments. In May, his tweet that the stock was "too high" drove the share price down as much as 12%.
Musk also commented on what some traders saw as a less-than-exciting "battery day" last week. Shares fell as much as 9% last Wednesday when Tesla revealed its next-generation battery cell technology won't be as cost-efficient as some initially thought.
"The cells we're talking about— we have produced many of them. We have had cars driving with those cells since May. My premise is never to try to convince people why they should invest in Tesla. Sell your stock, I don't care," Musk said.
The electric-vehicle company rose as much as 5% during Monday trading hours.