Tesla stock jumped again on Wednesday as investors looked to the future.
Shares of the electric-vehicle maker added 4.1%, closing at $347.60 apiece, while the S&P 500 was flat and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%.
News about potential compensation for CEO Elon Musk might be helping. Tesla's board is looking into a new pay package for Musk, the Financial Times reported recently.
He was notably awarded some 300 million incentive-laden options in 2018, but that pay package is being contested in Delaware courts. The options are worth roughly $90 billion at current prices for Tesla shares.
Any new pay package would likely be hefty, but most investors want to keep Musk around. Tesla didn't respond to Barron's request for comment.
Tesla hasn't scheduled its annual meeting of shareholders yet. An annual proxy statement and annual meeting would be a good time to sort out pay details.
The early rise on Tuesday adds to an incredible month for the stock. The shares closed at $334.07 on Tuesday, the highest close since February, leaving shares up more than 18% in May. Shares were also up 40% since Tesla reported its first-quarter results on April 22.
Those results were relatively weak: Tesla's operating profits missed estimates as deliveries fell 13% year over year. But CEO Elon Musk said he would spend more time at Tesla and less time in Washington, D.C.
Figuring out exactly where Musk is spending his time is hard to do. He was in Saudi Arabia with President Donald Trump on Tuesday, along with other U.S. business leaders.
He also said Tesla would launch a self-driving robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, in June -- on schedule.
That was good news. Investors are very focused on autonomous vehicles. Baron Capital founder and Tesla shareholder Ron Baron said Tuesday that autonomy can expand Tesla's profits dramatically.
Tesla management also believes that self-driving Teslas, and new models, can help repair some of the recent challenges for the brand. "Our strategy of providing the best product at a competitive price is going to be a winner," said CFO Vaibhav Taneja on the company's first-quarter conference call. Tesla plans to launch a lower-priced model mid-year. "Additionally, the advancement in FSD-related features, including pilot robotaxi launch in Austin later this year, should help create a new era of demand."
New models, self-driving cars, and improving brand image is the bull case for Tesla stock. The bulls are in control right now. Just look at the stock price.