GM IPO Will Top Tesla IPO, Poll Says

NEW YORK ( TheStreet) -- As Tesla Motors' ( TSLA) IPO took off last week, the logical question was to consider how it might compare to the much-anticipated upcoming GM IPO.

Thus, we asked readers of TheStreet which offering would be more successful: the one of the smaller, more specialized electric carmaker Tesla, which generated so much enthusiasm in the lead up to the event and throughout its debut week on the NASDAQ, or that of the larger GM, which is -- it's fair to say -- is the decided leader in terms of market share?

While investors were clearly rooting for the small electric car maker -- driving up its share price and causing trading volume to balloon in its debut week -- some 58.5% of polltakers have the view that the GM IPO will be more successful than Tesla's.

Only 31.5% of the poll takers agreed with the notion that the Tesla IPO would beat GM's. A mere 10% of voters thought the IPOs will be comparable.

Tesla's first-day gain last Tuesday was the second-largest this year for a U.S. IPO, next to Financial Engines' ( FNGN). The latter advanced 44% on its debut on the NASDAQ on Mar. 16, while Tesla rose 41% from its IPO price of $17 to close at $23.89 on its first day of trading last Tuesday.

Tesla managed to make these big gains even as the S&P 500 Index fell 3.1% due to worries about a slowdown in the Chinese economy and lower-than-expected U.S. consumer confidence numbers.

Currently Tesla has a market cap of $1.79 billion.

The Tesla debut is a positive sign for the electric car market, but hasn't tempered concerns about Tesla's ability to compete with the Nissan ( NSANY) Leaf and Chevy Volt. Those two are expected to debut this year, while Tesla's Model S -- which many investors are banking their money on -- is said to be debuting in 2012.

Worth noting, though, is that the Model S doesn't even have production facilities in place yet.

Profitless Tesla currently has only one vehicle on the market right -- the roughly $100,000 Roadster, which has thus far been more popular among celebrities and collectors than the average car owner.

Sources tell Reuters that GM's IPO could occur as early as this year, slightly more than a year after GM resurfaced from a government-backed bankruptcy. They tell Reuters that the automaker could raise as much as $20 billion from its IPO.

Tesla Motors vs. GM: Whose IPO Will Win?

Click here to view our poll on the Tesla IPO

-- Reported by Andrea Tse in New York

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