By George Glover
Tesla stock was soaring ahead of Wednesday's opening bell as Republican nominee Donald Trump closed in on a victory in the U.S. presidential election.
Shares in the electric car maker jumped 12% to $282.69 in premarket trading. Futures for the benchmark S&P 500 were up 2.3%. Shares in Tesla rival Rivian slipped 4.7% to $10.09.
The surge came with Trump on course to win the election. The Associated Press has called the key swing states of North Carolina, Georgia, and Pennsylvania in his favor, putting him just three electoral votes away from a return to the White House early Wednesday.
Trump took to the stage at an election party in West Palm Beach, Fla. early Wednesday and declared himself the winner. AP still hasn't called the race for either candidate.
In his victory speech, Trump singled out Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk -- a key this election campaign ally -- for praise.
"Let me tell you, we have a new star. A star is born -- Elon," Trump said. He added that he'd been amazed by SpaceX's midair rocket catch last month and claimed the space technology company's Starlink internet service had "saved a lot of lives" when North Carolina was hit by Hurricane Helene in late September.
"[Musk is] a character, he's a special guy, he's a super genius. We have to protect our geniuses -- we don't have that many of them," Trump said.
Write to George Glover at george.glover@dowjones.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 06, 2024 04:31 ET (09:31 GMT)
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