The automaker Tesla enters Monday the S&P 500 stock index, which includes the 500 largest companies in New York.
After a good year, the 100% electric manufacturer led by Elon Musk wants to expand his empire.
But his grand designs are undermined near Berlin, Germany.
DECRYPTION
It's a historic day for the Tesla brand: the 100% electric American manufacturer will join the S&P 500 stock market index, which brings together the 500 largest companies in New York, with a sensational arrival in the top 10. This year , Tesla's price soared.
So, how to explain this phenomenon?
How many cars does Tesla actually sell?
And what are Elon Musk's future plans?
Europe 1 took a look at one of the few companies to have benefited from 2020.
In 2020, Tesla has indeed become a stock market phenomenon.
The stock has soared 680% this year to weigh more than $ 600 billion today.
In the automotive industry, that's more than Volkswagen, Toyota, General Motors, Fiat-Chrysler, Honda and Ford combined.
A gap between enthusiasm and sales
The whole paradox lies in the fact that Tesla will sell "only" 400,000 cars in 2020. This has nothing to do with the historic manufacturers: the Volkswagen group has sold 11 million cars in 2019 and Renault alone represents nearly 4 million vehicles, ten times more than Tesla.
To explain this discrepancy, specialists argue that the markets buy a vision and the futuristic image of the company.
We remember the Tesla sent into space by SpaceX, also owned by Elon Musk, in February 2018.
What makes Tesla credible today is also technology and the lead in electrics.
Goldman Sachs estimates that Tesla's automotive market share could reach 30% in 2035. So far, that number is only between 4 and 5%.
But production capacities are increasing considerably with the construction of two "Gigafactories", mega-factories outside the United States, in Shanghai and Berlin, with each time the ambition to produce 500,000 cars per year. .
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Hanging construction site in Berlin
In Germany, barely a year after the announcement of the contract with the region, the Tesla factory has already risen from the ground after an express project, "à la Elon Musk", which twists the arm of German good manners.
In this country, it fascinates as much as it annoys.
For the region around Berlin, it's very simple: before Tesla and its four billion euros, no one had ever invested so much money.
Tesla is therefore a boon and a source of pride for Brandenburg, a region best known for its industrial breakdowns and its shaky finances: normally, in Germany, it is in the south that visionary entrepreneurs seek to settle.
Elon Musk breaks all codes with infectious enthusiasm.
"Deutschland Rocks! We want to make here a great place to work. It's going to be great!", He said last September.
When he is visiting, the entrepreneur sleeps in his factory under construction.
He has also already indicated that he would do the job interviews himself, without being subject to the collective agreement of the German automotive sector.
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A factory almost finished without a work permit? For me, it's criminal!
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Ultimately, the Tesla factory will need four million liters of water per day, a reason why environmentalists in the region have filed appeals.
But without waiting for the green light from justice, Elon Musk has already razed dozens of hectares of forest, triggering the anger of residents.
"A factory almost finished without permission to work? Where do we see that? For me, it's criminal!", Indignant Manuela, an opponent of the project met by Europe 1.
Elon Musk has pledged to rehabilitate the site if the project is ever refused.
However, the German authorities are still waiting for him to pay his deposits.
On Friday, the region therefore temporarily suspended work.
Officially, the inauguration of the plant takes place in six months.
The stake of a car at 25,000 dollars
The technical peculiarity of this factory located near Berlin concerns the manufacture of a whole new generation of battery, with battery cells capable of offering 30% more autonomy, without cobalt.
"This innovation in batteries will really change the approach to electric vehicles," says Armand Taïeb, founder of
Tesla Magazine
.
"We can make batteries that go up to 1,000 kilometers, but they are very, very expensive. This mass production of batteries will make it possible to have a vehicle at 25,000 dollars with a range comparable to a Model 3 of today. . "
A reasonably priced Tesla, with more than 500 km of autonomy, this is what will perhaps allow Elon Musk's company to regain its number one place in Europe. Tesla occupied it in 2019 but, this year, it is no longer even in the top 10, which is dominated by Renault's Zoe.