Tesla’s market capitalisation passed $1 trillion on Monday after its shares surged following a deal with car rental company Hertz which has ordered 100,000 new electric vehicles from the manufacturer.
It is the largest-ever order for the firm founded by Elon Musk.
Following the announcement of the deal, Tesla’s shares jumped by over 9.5% to top $995.75, making the company worth $1trn (around £726bn), according to Reuters.
The agreement will see Hertz complete its purchases of the Tesla Model 3 cars by the end of 2022, while customers will be able to start renting Tesla’s electric vehicles through Hertz starting from next month.
The deal is likely to be worth around $4bn (£2.9bn) because each Model 3 has a base price of about $40,000 (£29,000).
It also ranks at the top of the list of electric vehicle orders by a single firm. By becoming a $1 trillion company, Tesla joins an elite group of famous firms that have already passed the mark.
The only other publicly listed companies in the US that have reached a $1trn market capitalisation so far are Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and Alphabet, the parent company of Google.
Hertz customers will be able to access Tesla’s network of superchargers across the US and Europe – and the rental company has also pledged to install 3,000 chargers of its own by the end of next year.
“We absolutely believe that this is going to be competitive advantage for us,” acting chief executive of Hertz, Mark Fields, said of the Tesla order.
Speaking to Reuters, Mr Fields added: “We want to be a leader in mobility…Getting customers experience with electrified vehicles is an absolute priority for us.”
Hertz currently has around 430,000 to 450,000 vehicles worldwide, and has said it will work with other companies producing electric vehicles – not just Tesla. Following the latest order, Mr Fields said that electric vehicles will make up more than 20 per cent of its global fleet.
Mr Musk’s company is currently struggling to fulfil a backlog of orders, and is suffering from supply chain issues – but experts say that the deal cements the mainstream status of electric vehicles.
