And who stops them anymore the masters of the future? Elon Musk, waiting to complete the rocket that will take him to Mars, celebrates the new records of Tesla, which alone is worth more than the nine four-wheeled manufacturers that follow it in the standings. Mark Zuckerberg, opposed by politicians, intellectuals and by the barrage triggered by the accusations of a former employee, Frances Haugen, on a tour of Europe to denounce his misdeeds, floods the market with dollars and prepares to announce the landing on the "metaverse" , the Internet in 3D where its laws will be worth more than the Antitrust. And the reply of Jeff Bezos, the third "master of the universe", was not long in coming: it will be his first permanent station in space, inhabited all year round. And so on. The parade of the accounts of the US giants of technology offers the opportunity to acknowledge that, despite the Antitrust outcry and the timid tax reforms, the balance of power is leaning more and more in favor of the new leaders of the economy (including Apple, Alphabet and Microsoft) often in the odor of monopoly . Winning even if, by now, more feared than likable.
It is also the case of Elon Musk, awarded Monday on Wall Street by a generous 12% increase which catapulted the Tesla stock beyond the threshold of one trillion in value, within a restricted club to which they belong Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon and Facebook (today "only" at 962 million) and the Saudi Aramco. At these prices, Musk's stake in Tesla, which has grown 40% since January, is worth $172 billion, more than Exxon Mobil or Toyota are worth. Just one step in the ascent of the inventor who, according to Morgan Stanley, will be the first man to own more than a trillion dollars, thanks to the predictable rise of Space X which is about to cover space with satellites for Internet and other transmissions Alone.
The occasion for yet another Tesla boom was the Hertz max order, the newly relaunched car rental company that decided to buy a hundred thousand Teslas in one fell swoop. Musk's reaction? “I don't understand the reason for this increase. Tesla doesn't have the problem of selling, if anything of supplying the market with all the cars it asks for ”. And here's another of his apparently crazy bets: from half a million cars a year to over 20 million in 2030, double that of Volkswagen. Will it go like this?
A part of the market believes it: already this year the Shanghai factory will take off as well as that of Berlin or the third unit in the United States. But, says Pierre Ferragu of New Street Research who has a target price of 1.400 trillion dollars for Tesla, the bet is another: from car manufacturer Tesla is destined above all to become a software vendor, starting with autonomous driving systems. Just as it already happens for "full - self driving", the autonomous driving system that costs 10 thousand dollars (or 199 dollars / month in rent). For now it is not authorized but, according to Ferragut, "in 2030 it will represent 75 percent of Tesla's revenue".
Others are much more sceptical. A study by Mirabaud reveals that Hertz's order is worth 4,2 billion dollars but caused a rise in the stock market of 80 billion. “It is madness" other analysts repeat in chorus, such as Bernstein who wonder how Tesla can achieve certain goals with just four models”. But, speaking of Musk, the fame of the tycoon counts more than the numbers.
This is no longer the case Mark Zuckerberg, in the crosshairs of authorities, Ong and the accusations of a former employee based on internal documents which show that, invariably, she favored profits over ethics. "They are documents chosen on purpose to provide the wrong image," replied the owner of Facebook, consoling himself with 7,9 billion in profits in a quarter mainly from digital advertising: 23.7% of the world market, an almost unassailable position.
