Tesla shares climbed to a new all-time high Tuesday, capping a dramatic turnaround after one of the stock’s most volatile years in recent memory, CNBC reports.

The stock rose to $489.48, topping its previous intraday record of $488.54 set almost exactly a year ago. The rally comes after Tesla shares plunged 36% in the first quarter, their worst quarterly performance since 2022, before rebounding sharply in the second half of the year.

From its early-2025 lows, Tesla stock has surged well over 50%, driven largely by renewed investor enthusiasm around the company’s long-promised robotaxi ambitions.

This week’s gains followed comments from CEO Elon Musk that Tesla has been testing fully driverless vehicles in Austin, Texas, with no occupants on board — a key milestone for the company’s autonomous driving push.

As a result of the rally, Tesla’s market capitalization has climbed to about $1.63 trillion, making it the seventh-most valuable publicly traded company in the world. It now sits just behind tech heavyweights including Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta, and slightly ahead of Broadcom.

Tesla’s stock strength contrasts with its uneven vehicle sales performance earlier in the year. The company reported a 13% decline in deliveries and a 20% drop in automotive revenue in the first quarter. Sales pressure continued into the second quarter, with auto revenue down 16%.

Momentum shifted in the fall. Tesla reported a 12% increase in third-quarter revenue, helped by a surge in U.S. demand ahead of the expiration of a federal EV tax credit. The stock jumped about 40% during that period, setting the stage for its latest record.

Despite ongoing concerns about competition, brand perception, and slower EV demand in key markets, Wall Street remains optimistic.

Mizuho this week raised its Tesla price target to $530 from $475, citing improvements in the company’s Full Self-Driving technology and the potential for faster expansion of its robotaxi operations.

For investors, the numbers tell the story: after a bruising start to the year, Tesla has erased its losses, reached new highs, and added hundreds of billions of dollars in market value — all on growing confidence that autonomous driving, not just EV sales, will define its future.