Tesla CEO Elon Musk. AP Photo/Jae C. Hong Tesla's strong third-quarter earnings sent its stock price up as much as 5.5% in pre-market trading on Thursday.Elon Musk's electric-car maker delivered nearly 140,000 vehicles last quarter, fueling record operating income of $809 million and free cash flow of $1.4 billion.Tesla's bosses are aiming to deliver 500,000 vehicles this year, requiring them to produce about 181,000 cars this quarter — 29% more than their previous quarterly record.The automaker's stock price has soared almost five-fold this year, giving the group a bigger market capitalization than Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, or JPMorgan Chase.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.Tesla shares surged as much as 5.5% in pre-market trading on Thursday after Elon Musk's electric-car company posted third-quarter earnings on Wednesday that beat Wall Street's expectations.The automaker grew revenues by 39% year-on-year to $8.8 billion, which helped to more than triple its operating income to a record $809 million.