Shares of Elon Musk’s Tesla shot up 13% Wednesday morning after Donald Trump won the presidency.

Tesla investors were quick to bet on the electric vehicle giant, predicting that the company’s founder and CEO would benefit greatly from Mr. Trump’s coming tenure in the White House.

The stock, at about $287 a share, is at its highest level in more than a year. Tesla overall has underperformed in 2024 compared to the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index because of slowing demand for electric vehicles.

The stock boost comes as Mr. Musk is poised to take on a role in the president-elect’s administration. During the campaign, the Republican nominee said he would appoint Mr. Musk to a role supervising government efficiency. The Tesla boss has been talking about cutting government waste since he acquired Twitter in 2022 and has promised to cut trillions of dollars from the federal budget.

Amid Mr. Trump’s stand against the Biden administration’s EV mandate, Mr. Musk has shifted his company toward its humanoid robot program Optimus and its upcoming robotaxi fleet.

Meanwhile, Mr. Trump’s promise to level heavy tariffs on foreign goods could help Tesla’s automotive goals. While foreign EV makers such as China’s BYD have cut into Tesla’s bottom line in the past year, the president-elect’s tariffs could make Teslas look more affordable to some consumers.

• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.