Tesla: GM dethrones as most valuable US automaker

General Motors CEO Mary Barra.Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

• General Motors reclaimed its crown as the most valuable American automaker on Friday after Tesla shares plunged more than 13% in the wake of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s lawsuit against Elon Musk.
• General Motors ended Friday’s session with a market cap of about $47.44 billion, while Tesla’s was at $45.22 billion, according to Bloomberg data. 
• On Thursday, the Securities and Exchange Commission sued Tesla CEO Elon Musk for making “false and misleading statements” about his claim that he could take the electric-car maker private at $420 a share. 
• Watch General Motors and Tesla trade here in real time.

General Motors reclaimed its crown as the most-valuable American automaker on Friday after Tesla shares plunged more than 13% in the wake of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s lawsuit against CEO Elon Musk.

At Friday’s close, GM had a market capitalization of about $47.44 billion, according to Bloomberg data, while Tesla’s was down to $45.22 billion. Ford — America’s third-most-valuable automaker — ended the day with a market cap of about $36.87 billion.

The SEC on Thursday accused Musk of making “false and misleading statements” about his claim that he could take the electric-car maker private at $420 a share. 

“Musk knew or was reckless in not knowing that each of these statements was false and/or misleading because he did not have an adequate basis in fact for his assertions,” the SEC’s lawsuit said. It recommends Musk pay a penalty and seeks to bar him from being an officer or director at a public company.

In April 2017, Tesla dethroned GM to become largest US automaker by market cap. Its market value would eventually peak at $64.75 billion on August 7, the day Musk tweeted he was considering taking the electric-car maker private.

Get the latest Tesla stock price here.