Tesla on Track to Join S&P 500

By Janet Levaux

News November 16, 2020 at 11:27 PM

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Tesla founder Elon Musk speaking at an event

Tesla is set to join the S&P 500 next month, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices.

The index provider expects the electric carmaker to account for about 1%, or $51 billion, of the S&P 500′s total market capitalization.

Due to size of Tesla's inclusion, S&P Dow Jones said it is seeking feedback from the investment community to determine if Tesla shares should be added all at once on the index's rebalancing date of Dec. 21 or in two stages (or tranches) on Dec.14 and Dec. 21.

Comments are being accepted on both the schedule and size of the tranches through Friday. Results of the survey will be made public on Nov. 30.

Tesla will replace a S&P 500 company "to be named … closer to the rebalance effective date," the index provider said.

The news comes three months after S&P Dow Jones Indices announced changes to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, including the addition of Salesforce.com, Amgen and Honeywell International and the exclusion of Exxon Mobil, Pfizer and Raytheon Technologies.

The S&P 500 is up 12% this year, while the Dow Jones has improved almost 5%. Meanwhile the Nasdaq 100, which currently includes Tesla, has risen nearly 38% in 2020. The jump in the Nasdaq has been propelled by an almost 400% jump in Tesla stock.

"Tesla's addition will help the S&P Index to reduce its lag versus other gauges such as Nasdaq 100 Index," Brian Freitas, an analyst at Smartkarma, told Bloomberg.

The carmaker was founded 17 years ago and has posted a profit during the first three quarters of 2020.

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