After a chaotic start to the year, Elon Musk has become the first person ever to achieve a net worth of nearly $500 billion (Rs 41,07,500 crore), driven directly by a rebound in his EV company, Tesla, whose shares surged and boosted the valuations of Musk’s other startups this year. His net worth stood at $500.1 billion as of 4.15 pm ET, according to Forbes’ Billionaires Index. Most of Musk’s fortune is tied to Tesla, where he held more than a 12.4 per cent stake as of September 15. The stock has surged more than 14 per cent so far this year and closed 3.3 per cent higher on Wednesday, adding more than $6 billion to his net worth. Musk shifted his focus back to the company after spending several months at the White House campaigning for his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)-related initiatives alongside Donald Trump after the stock started trending higher, and investor sentiment improved. Tesla Board Chair Robyn Denholm said last month that Musk was back “front and centre” at the company after several months away. Another factor boosting his worth is Musk’s recent disclosure that he purchased about $1 billion worth of Tesla shares, a major vote of confidence in the company as it races to transition from an automaker to an AI and robotics powerhouse. Even so, Tesla still faces challenges with sagging car sales and persistent margin pressures have hurt the stock, making it one of the worst performers among the “Magnificent Seven” group of megacap tech stocks. Last month, Tesla’s board proposed a $1 trillion compensation plan for Musk, outlining ambitious financial and operational targets for the CEO while also addressing his demands for a larger stake in the company. Musk’s AI startup xAI and rocket company SpaceX have also scaled their valuations this year. xAI was last valued at $75 billion as of July, according to data from PitchBook. Oracle founder Larry Ellison follows Musk as the second-richest person on Forbes’ list, with a net worth of about $350.7 billion as of Wednesday.
