The Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) share price has had a stellar run in the past couple of weeks.
Tesla shares have soared 18% from $628.16 at the market close on 24 May to the current price of $740.37.
Let's take a look at what's happening.
Strong interest from retail investors
Tesla shares have been surging amid strong interest from retail investors, the Australian Financial Review (AFR) reports.
Tesla is a world-leading electric vehicle (EV) maker based in Austin, Texas and is led by CEO Elon Musk.
Vanda Research analyst Fabian Birli says there has been a "clear uptake in retail sentiment" since the start of the month.
Birli said:
In May, we've seen the strongest monthly buying of Tesla shares by retail investors since August 2020, when the company announced its first stock split.
A boost in production could be impacting the Tesla share price. In late May, Tesla revealed it will restart production at its Shanghai gigafactory. Tesla is looking to get production capacity back to 2,600 EVs per day.
Further, American investor Cathie Wood bought 42,000 shares of Tesla in late May, as my Foolish colleague in the US reported.
In news today, Musk has demanded staff return to work in the office or depart Tesla, Bloomberg reports. Musk informed workers they must spend at least 40 hours at the office each week. This must be at the main Tesla office, not a remote branch office.
Musk said:
If you don't show up, we will assume you have resigned. The more senior you are, the more visible must be your presence.
On 14 April, Musk launched a plan to take over Twitter. The Twitter board of directors accepted a buyout offer of US$44 billion on 25 April, although it is still pending regulatory and shareholder approval.
Tesla share price snapshot
The Tesla share price has soared 22% in the past 12 months but has fallen 38% year to date.
For comparison, the NASDAQ 100 Index has shed 9.4% in a year, and lost 24% year to date.
Tesla has a market capitalisation of about $767 billion based on the current share price.
