Today, Tesla’s market capitalization has skyrocketed in a trend that seems to have no end. It has become the first manufacturer worldwide in this regard, surpassing brands that manufacture huge quantities of cars in North Americans, such as Volkswagen or Toyota, and which has brought its market value to $278 billion. A portion that could be from Mercedes-Benz if it had not been sold at the time.
And it is that in 2008 things were not going so well for Tesla. With only one product in its portfolio, the Roadster, and in the throes of its first mass business model, money was not coming in, and the situation was critical. So much so that Elon Musk himself had to put everything he had in the bank to save the case and where the entry into the Mercedes shareholding allowed them to save that match ball.
It was the first week of November 2008 when Elon Musk and his team searched for desperate liquidity to continue their expansion. So in the absence of resources, Musk himself traveled to Stuttgart to sign an agreement at Daimler’s headquarters. Daimler bought 9% of Tesla, which allowed the North American manufacturer to meet the requirements for the public offering of shares, and with it achieve current economic strength.
An investment that was not too large, $50 million, but that allowed Tesla to access the credit from the United States Department of Energy of 465 million that opened the doors to start the Fremont factory. At the same time, Mercedes took advantage of Tesla technology to develop the Class B ED and the first electric Smart.
The point is that with this small gesture, the German giant took 5 million shares with a value at the time of $ 19 each. How much would those actions be worth today?
At the close of the market on Friday, Tesla stocks were at $1,500, very close to their all-time high achieved this past Wednesday at $1,546. Something that multiplied by the five million shares of Mercedes would mean today having a cushion of no less than $7.5 billion.
This would account for two-thirds of the Daimler’s group’s current net industrial cash position, and that would undoubtedly have been essential support in a year where the coronavirus crisis and the international situation have halved sales and collapsed income. Something that has forced the brand to implement an adjustment plan includes a reduction of up to 15,000 employees.
Money could also help alleviate the impact in 2021 of the implementation of fines for polluting emissions that, according to experts, may mean Daimler will face fines worth 900 million euros next year.
Some Tesla shares that Mercedes sold shortly after, mainly due to political pressure, today would have made the German manufacturer one of the lucky shareholders of a Tesla that does not seem to see the ceiling of its growth in the stock market.