Meta Platforms surpassed Tesla in market value after the close of trading Thursday for the first time in 16 months as the strategies of their respective chief executives diverged.
Tesla
(ticker: TSLA), led by billionaire Elon Musk, finished Thursday as the eighth-biggest public U.S. company, just behind
Meta,
led by CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Meta finished Thursday’s session with a market cap of $552.4 billion, topping Tesla’s market cap of $515.7 billion, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The shift followed a drop in Tesla’s value after shares fell nearly 10% Thursday following disappointing earnings from the electric-vehicle maker. Musk has been slashing prices at Tesla, prioritizing sales growth over profits.
Zuckerberg, by contrast, has been slashing jobs and investment in the metaverse since last year, moves that have been cheered by investors.
On Thursday, Zuckerberg told employees that he won’t rule out future layoffs and that hiring will slow, The Wall Street Journal reported. In November, the company said it would lay off about a quarter of its workforce, equivalent to 21,000 staff.
Meta shares have climbed 144% since then. Tesla also has risen since its January lows.
Meta shares retreated in premarket trading Friday, falling 1.3%. Tesla, by contrast, was rising 1.7%.
Write to Brian Swint at brian.swint@barrons.com
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