Tesla CEO Elon Musk has finally named his real rival but the company is not a traditional automaker like Volkswagen or Toyota, but a much bigger one.

When it comes to competition in electric vehicles, many people will think of the confrontation between Tesla and traditional automakers and, because of Tesla's current success, "Tesla killer" has become a common saying. Although traditional automakers are more or less attacking Tesla, the real rival in Elon Musk's mind is not actually in the auto industry.

Musk believes that Tesla's real rival is Saudi Aramco, the Saudi state oil company.

According to Musk, only when Tesla's market value, which makes sustainable energy products, exceeds that of a national oil company selling fossil fuel products, will you know the future of the planet will be good.

Therefore, Tesla's opponents are not the two auto giants Toyota or Volkswagen, nor GM and Ford supported by the US government. Even if new electric vehicle startups Rivian or Lucid make powerful products, they are not what Tesla wants to beat. Its target is Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil company.

As of May 2022, the market value of Saudi Arabian Oil Company is 2.43 trillion US dollars, while the market value of Tesla, which has experienced a plunge, is 786.9 billion US dollars. Although Tesla has also touched on a trillion-dollar market value, it is now only about one-third of that of Saudi Aramco, and there is still a huge gulf between the two.

▲Global Market Value Ranking

Saudi Arabian Oil Company officially IPOed in 2019. After its listing, it broke Apple's record for listed stock price. It is currently the world's most valuable company. It owns the world's largest onshore oil field and the world's largest offshore oil field. The Saudi Arabian government is its owner.

Although Musk named Saudi Aramco the symbol of his intention to fight the oil industry, do not forget that the world's largest oil company is also a major investor in carbon capture technology, hydrogen energy technology, and various carbon cycle technologies. Saudi Arabia is also the majority shareholder of Lucid Motor and will be the home of Lucid's first factory outside the United States.

If Tesla's market value really surpasses Saudi Aramco one day, it will of course be a great entrepreneurial story but judging from the huge market value difference between the two, this day may be as far away as Level 5 autonomous driving.

(Image: Tesla)