Tesla surges above $500 billion market cap as its post-earnings rally helps pare last year's brutal rout

• Tesla pierced above a market valuation of $500 million during Thursday's stock rally. 
• The EV maker's market cap still remains far off its peak of about $1.2 trillion. 
• Upbeat guidance and record Q4 earnings set off Thursday's stock surge, but analysts were mixed on the results. 

Tesla pushed above a market valuation of $500 billion on Thursday after the EV maker's record quarterly profit fueled a rally that chipped further away at last year's stock plunge. 

The stock jumped as much as to 11.7% to reach $161.42 a share, propelling the company's market capitalization to $510 billion.