The share price value of electric automotive company Tesla has broken the $100 billion barrier meaning that it has become the second most valuable carmaker in the world, pushing it ahead of Volkswagen, despite never recording an annual profit.

The price of shares in the company have more than doubled since October after the US firm did report positive quarterly profit figures, something that it has rarely done during its development. A recent further 4% increase has now seen its valuation top $100 billion. In terms of comparison with other car makers the share price value of VW is just under $90 billion and GM just under $50 billion. These levels are however dwarfed by Japanese giant Toyota which is valued at over $230bn.

As with any stock market price the valuation is based not just on performance, but also future potential. In sales terms Tesla remains a minor volume player having delivered 367,500 cars globally in 2019. This compares to 11 million for VW and 9 million for Toyota. However, from the Tesla perspective, the sales growth was impressive, up 50% on 2018. Other factors, such as the recent opening of a factory in Shanghai, which will open up the vast Chinese market, have also had an influence.

One person who stands to benefit from the price rise is company founder Elon Musk who will make $ billions in value related bonuses.