Tesla boss Elon Musk has become the first person in history to achieve a net worth of more than $500bn (£370.9bn), as the value of the electric carmaker and his other businesses surged this year.
According to Forbes’ billionaires index, Musk’s wealth briefly touched $500.1bn on Wednesday, October 1, 2025, in New York before dipping slightly to just over $499bn later in the day.
The rise has been driven not only by Tesla’s share performance but also by growing valuations of his other ventures, including the artificial intelligence startup xAI and rocket company SpaceX.
The milestone further cements Musk’s position as the world’s richest person, well ahead of Oracle founder Larry Ellison, who ranks second with about $350.7bn. Ellison briefly overtook Musk last month after Oracle shares soared more than 40% on the back of optimism over its cloud and artificial intelligence business.
Musk’s fortune is closely tied to his more than 12% stake in Tesla, whose shares rose 3.3% on Wednesday and are up over 20% this year. Investors have welcomed Musk’s renewed focus on his companies after criticism earlier this year over his involvement with the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Musk, who also owns the social media platform X, has been outspoken on issues such as immigration and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes. Tesla chair Robyn Denholm said in September that he was now “front and centre” at the carmaker.
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The board has said Musk could receive a pay package worth over $1tn if he meets ambitious targets over the next decade, including selling 12 million Tesla cars, one million AI robots, and increasing Tesla’s valuation eightfold.
Last month, Musk also bought about $1bn worth of Tesla shares, seen by some investors as a vote of confidence.
Despite challenges from rivals such as China’s BYD, Tesla is increasingly positioning itself as not just a car company but an AI and robotics business.
SOURCE: bbc.com
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