Sorry, Volkswagen.

Tesla last week unseated the German carmaker as the world's second-largest automaker by market capitalization. Its ever-soaring stock is sealing its place in the top three in the wake of an earnings beat at least for now.

Tesla's market capitalization as of Wednesday was $104.7 billion. Volkswagen, which was No. 2 until Tesla began its stock tear, has a market cap of $84.9 billion. The No. 1 automaker by market cap is Toyota, which has a market cap of $202.3 billion.

It's an unprecedented high for Tesla, which in the past year faced an investigation by US regulators, the departure of key board members, and investor uncertainty that led one Wall Street veteran to call Tesla's 2019 second quarter "one of top debacles we have ever seen."

But now Tesla's stock price has doubled since October. It posted surprise profits in the third quarter and stayed profitable in the fourth quarter. To go with record 2019 sales, it also completed an unexpectedly speedy construction of its first international factory, which is now churning out Model 3s in Shanghai.

Production of its crossover, the Model Y, is also unexpectedly ahead of schedule, with deliveries scheduled to kick off by the end of March.

Tesla's market cap is now higher than those of its fellow American carmakers GM and Ford combined.

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Tesla is on a tear and is now the world's No. 2 automaker by market capitalization - Business Insider - Business Insider