Tesla’s shares fall as it makes debut on Wall Street’s S&P 500

Electric car manufacturer Tesla’s shares fall as it makes its debut on Wall Street’s S&P 500

Tesla shares fell yesterday as it made its debut on Wall Street’s S&P 500. 

The blue-chip index measures the stock market performance of 500 of the largest public companies in the United States. 

The electric car maker – which is run by billionaire Elon Musk (pictured below) – is the biggest firm to join the S&P and its shares gained 60 per cent in value after the change was announced last month. But yesterday they dropped 6.5 per cent to $650 each. 

Some analysts suggested this was because a rush by tracker funds to snap up the stock before yesterday had inflated its value. 

Nevertheless, Tesla’s admission to the S&P comes after huge growth in its shares, which are up by more than 600 per cent this year. 

A year ago they were changing hands for about $84 each but now it is the sixth-largest company in the S&P behind the likes of Facebook. 

Chris Ford, co-manager of Smith & Williamson Artificial Intelligence Fund, which holds Tesla shares, said the company has ‘so far proved the doubters and short sellers wrong’.