Elon Musk’s net worth has surpassed US$300-billion for the first time in almost three years, as shares of Tesla soar on bets that his close ties with US President-elect Donald Trump will bolster the company.
Musk has added more to his personal fortune since Trump’s win than anyone else tracked by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Tesla’s stock has jumped 28% since Tuesday’s close, increasing his wealth by $50-billion to $313.7-billion (R5.8-trillion).
Trump has openly suggested moves that would benefit Musk’s businesses. He said he’d reconsider his plans to slow the move to electric vehicles because of the Tesla co-founder’s backing. Trump also voiced support for SpaceX, which makes up $82-billion of Musk’s net worth, and its push to reach Mars. And the president-elect has floated the idea of Musk serving in a newly created role in his administration as efficiency tsar.
“One of the best strategic bets he ever made was ultimately this bet on Trump,” Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said on Thursday. “Musk is the big winner in this Trump sweepstakes.”
Musk inserted himself late into the presidential race, campaigning alongside Trump in the weeks leading up to the election and bankrolling stunts such as a $1-million daily sweepstakes for voters in battleground states. He became a part of Trump’s inner circle, spending election night at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach.
Musk, 53, is the only person to ever have a fortune in excess of $300-billion, a mark he last reached in January 2022. It’s still short of his all-time high of $340.4-billion in 2021.
Even before the election, Musk’s net worth had been on the rise, with strong Tesla earnings in mid-October adding $34-billion to his fortune in a day.
Tied up in Tesla
Most of Musk’s fortune is tied up in Tesla, the world’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer, whose prospects depend heavily on the federal government. Musk said during a Tesla earnings call last month that he’d push for a federal approval process for autonomous vehicles — a centrepiece of the company’s future strategy — if selected for a role in the Trump administration.
Read: Trump victory a boost to Musk’s Mars dream
Trump initially said he’d roll back EV initiatives in his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in July, but changed his position a month later.
“I’m for electric cars,” Trump said at a rally in Atlanta. “I have to be, because Elon endorsed me very strongly.” — Dylan Sloan, (c) 2024 Bloomberg LP
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