Tesla has become the world’s second-most-valuable car company with a market value north of $100 billion.

For comparison, Ford and GM are worth $86 billion combined. Things have come a long way since the original Tesla Roadster received a scathing review on that episode of Top Gear. 

The new valuation puts the car and battery company ahead of behemoth Volkswagen and second only to Toyota’s colossal $230 billion. If the company hits its targets Tesla will be worth $650 billion by 2028. It that all pans out Elon “Tony Stark” Musk will be rewarded with about $50 billion in stocks. Damn.

So what’s caused the share price to double since October? Meeting production targets and opening a factory in Shanghai, that’s what. On top of that, and I’m stealing this theory from my dad, the established giants are having to react to our new love of electric vehicles.

Tesla was not only designed from the ground up for such a development, but they’re pretty much entirely responsible for the trend. Ludicrous mode. Software updates over WiFi. Making the car look like James Bond’s amphibious Lotus on the dash screen. These things are modern and they’re fun. We’ve been able to customise our phones and computers for years. Why not our cars too?