The growing alliance of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, already America's richest man, with President-elect Donald Trump appears to be yielding positive outcomes for his company, signaling likely future notable advantages under the new administration.
Musk's net worth exceeded $300 billion on Friday for the first time in more than two years. The 53-year-old tech mogul saw an increase of about $13 billion in his wealth during the Tesla stock rally, making him $70 billion richer than his nearest wealth competitor, Larry Ellison, the chairman of Oracle and Musk's close friend.
Tesla's market value surpassed $1 trillion on Friday. The jump followed the election of heavily Musk-backed Donald Trump to a second presidential term.
Musk remains Tesla's largest shareholder, owning a 13 percent stake valued at around $130 billion. He also holds a pending 9 percent stake, tied to an appeal in Delaware court concerning a 9 percent bonus in stock options. Forbes has factored in a 50 percent discount on this bonus when assessing Musk's overall wealth.
Tesla's stock is still currently about 25 percent lower than its peak of $415, reached in late 2021, when Musk's net worth topped approximately $320 billion.
Musk threw his support behind Trump in July, contributing around $130 million to his election efforts. Musk became a prominent figure on the campaign trail, even appearing in a photo at Trump's victory celebration with the former president's family.
The two have also discussed a potential role for Musk in the Trump administration, with Trump referring to him as the "secretary of cost-cutting." In his victory speech early Wednesday morning, Trump gave Musk a special mention, crowing: "We have a new star. A star is born — Elon!"
Trump had previously indicated that he might reduce the federal $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit, which has historically played a significant role in driving sales of Tesla vehicles. But with Musk possibly becoming part of Trump's administration, that looks less likely to occur.
In Tesla's latest earnings update, the company reported a revenue of $25.18 billion and a net income of $2.17 billion for the third quarter. During the earnings call, Musk shared his "best guess" that "vehicle growth" could reach up to 30 percent in the coming year, driven by the availability of "lower-cost vehicles" and the "advent of autonomy."
