#Tesla stock soars as S&P 500 inclusion appears imminent

Shares of Tesla continued their seemingly endless growth on Monday, climbing as much as 14 percent as investors bet on the stock’s possible inclusion in the S&P 500 index.

Tesla reports quarterly earnings next week. If it posts a profit that meets generally accepted accounting principles, it will have four consecutive profitable quarters under its belt– a key metric for being added to the popular stock index.

“Really that’s the only number that analysts are looking at in the upcoming earnings release,” CFRA Research analyst Garrett Nelson told The Post of a potential Tesla profit. “[Investors] are buying ahead of the earnings release in anticipation that index funds will have to add it.”

A spot on the S&P 500 would be yet another win for Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who has watched as his car company’s stock price has skyrocketed more than 200 percent since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States.

Musk’s net worth last week briefly surpassed that of legendary investor Warren Buffet, with Tesla’s rally making him the 11th richest person in the world.

But there is still some cause for concern surrounding Tesla. Nelson said he believes that shares “are starting to get ahead of themselves a little bit,” pointing out that there is still a lot of investing that needs to happen for Tesla to build new factories in Germany and the US.

“The stock is baking in this growth that hasn’t even happened yet,” he said. “Analysts just can’t keep up with it at this point. I think it’s above almost every price target that’s out there.”

Nelson added that Tesla’s recent decision to discount the price of the Model Y SUV just four months after releasing it is also a red flag to keep an eye on.

Shares of Tesla were up 9.2 percent Monday afternoon, at $1,686.46. The stock reached the $1,000 per share mark in June.