Well, so much for Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s share price returning to three-digits after JP Morgan Chase & Co sued the electric vehicle (EV) maker for US$162.2mln.
Tesla shares, which had dipped below US$1,000 in pre-market trading after JPM opened fire on the manufacturer for allegedly breaching a contract relating to stock warrants, advanced 3.3% to US1,045.70 in early deals once trading officially started on the NASDAQ exchange.
At one stage, the shares were off 1.1%.
The spat has erupted just as the combined market capitalisation of pure EV manufacturers exceeded that of traditional motor vehicle manufacturers.
The US business journal, Barron’s, calculates that the combined market capitalisation of EV companies is US$1,520bn, compared to US$1,470bn for old school automobile companies.
The eclipse comes despite Tesla shares sliding over the last couple of weeks. The shares peaked this month at US$1,229.91 on 4 November but have fallen back since company boss Elon Musk held (and adhered to the decision of) a Twitter poll on whether he should sell some stock to raise cash in preparation for a so-called billionaires tax.
Even so, Tesla is still valued at more than US$1,000bn.