Tesla CEO Musk says market cap could match Apple's $700 billion by 2025

Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk talks at the Automotive World News Congress at the Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan, January 13, 2015. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook · Reuters · Reuters

DETROIT (Reuters) - Tesla Motors Inc Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said on Wednesday the electric car company's growth trajectory could take its market capitalization to $700 billion (£459 billion) by 2025, matching that of Apple Inc. Musk told analysts that Tesla's revenue this year could grow to $6 billion, from $3.2 billion in 2014. His 2025 market-cap prediction assumes 50 percent annual revenue growth and a price-to-equity ratio for the stock of 20. Musk said Tesla's $35,000 Model 3 should be in production by the second half of 2017, and that its design will not be as "adventurous" as that of the gullwinged Model X crossover, in order to keep the production schedule on track. (Reporting by Paul Lienert; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)