By Ben Foldy

The market value of Nikola Corp., a little-known electric-truck startup that went public last week, has surged past that of Ford Motor Co. and other car companies in recent days, as investors continue to bet on the growth potential of electric transportation.

Shares of Nikola, which is developing commercial and passenger vehicles using batteries and hydrogen fuel cell technology, have more than doubled since they began trading publicly on Thursday.

The startup's market capitalization eclipsed $30 billion in intraday trading Tuesday, higher than Ford's value of about $28.8 billion and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV of about $20.5 billion.

Phoenix-based Nikola, which hasn't yet sold any vehicles, has targeted the commercial trucking sector, where companies like Amazon.com Inc. and United Parcel Service Inc. have pledged to reduce the carbon footprint of their logistics operations. The company has also signaled it intends to nose into the pickup market for individual consumers, the most profitable segment of the U.S. car market.

The firm's surging stock price underscores investors' preference for electric-vehicle upstarts over traditional auto makers. Shares of Tesla Inc. and China's NIO Inc. have more than doubled this year, while shares of General Motors Co. and Ford have been hammered amid factory shutdowns from the pandemic. It also illustrates that Wall Street's enthusiasm for electric cars and other future technologies remains strong, even as businesses more broadly face new pressures stemming from the recent economic fallout.

Nikola has said it has over $10 billion in preorders from commercial clients including brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev SA and expects to begin generating revenue next year with deliveries of a battery-powered semi truck for shorter-haul deliveries.

Nikola's stock began trading on June 4, a day after it completed a merger with VectoIQ Acquisition Corp., a publicly traded acquisition company run by former General Motors Co. executive Steve Girsky. The deal left the new entity with an implied value of about $3.3 billion. Shares finished trading last week around $35, a market capitalization of about $13 billion.

The stock rallied Monday, after Nikola executive chairman Trevor Milton tweeted Sunday night that the company would begin taking reservations for a consumer-oriented pickup truck called the Badger on June 29.

The Badger, which the company has said will be powered by both an electric battery and hydrogen fuel-cell technology, wasn't seen as a priority for the company and was unlikely to be built without a strategic partnership with an established manufacturer, the company said in corporate filings in May.

But Mr. Milton changed his tune Sunday, saying the company would reveal a fully operational prototype soon at a company event in the next few months. On Tuesday, he set an ambitious goal that the Badger would overtake the country's highest-selling model.

"My goal is to take the throne from the Ford F-150," Mr. Milton said in a live interview with Yahoo Finance. The F-150 pickup has been the top-selling model in the U.S. for many years.

Ford didn't have an immediate comment.

Tesla Inc. shares also have been on a tear, having more than doubled this year to close Monday at $949.92. The company's market capitalization of $176 billion as of Monday's close is nearly double that of General Motors Co., Ford and Fiat Chrysler combined.

Traditional auto makers have struggled to attract the same attention from investors, despite big spending in battery-powered technology.

GM, Ford and other big car companies, along with upstart firms, are developing electric pickup trucks and delivery vans, betting that commercial customers eventually will be drawn to the lower operating cost of plug-in vehicles.

Many also are developing electric pickups and SUVs for individual buyers, betting they will be drawn to an upstart brand in the vein of Tesla, the only auto maker that has found broad success selling electric vehicles.

Tesla Inc. has said it is taking orders for its futuristic-looking Cybertruck, which could go on sale by late 2021. Ford and GM also have electric-pickup plans in the works.

Privately held Rivian Automotive has a contract with Amazon.com Inc. to make 100,000 electric delivery vans over the next decade. The Michigan-based company, which has drawn investment from Amazon, Ford and others, also plans to bring a Rivian-brand pickup and SUV to market next year.

Executives from traditional car makers say they remain committed to the development of battery powered cars even amid the cash crunch from the pandemic, which closed factories for months this spring. GM Chief Executive Mary Barra has said the auto maker won't curtail planned investments in battery-powered cars.

Many car companies have dabbled in hydrogen-based electric cars, which use onboard fuel cells to produce electricity from hydrogen and oxygen. But the high cost of the technology and lack of refueling stations have limited their appeal, while many car companies have pegged their future electric-vehicle plans to lithium-ion batteries.

Nikola will build its first semi trucks with IVECO, a heavy-duty truck brand owned by CNH International NV. CNH also owns 7.1% of Nikola's outstanding equity after an investment round last year.

Mike Colias contributed to this article.

Write to Ben Foldy at Ben.Foldy@wsj.com 



  Corrections & Amplifications


  This item was corrected on June 10, 2020 to reflect that CNH International NV owns 7.1% of Nikola's outstanding equity after an investment round last year. The original version incorrectly said CNH and Robert Bosch invested in Nikola in the same investment round in the last paragraph.