Elon Musk becomes trillionaire again as SpaceX, Tesla shares soar

Elon Musk has become a trillionaire again, after a sharp rally in shares of SpaceX and Tesla added $65 billion to his fortune in a single trading session.

Musk’s net worth rose to $1.04 trillion overnight, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, making him the world’s richest person and putting his wealth back above the $1 trillion mark for the first time in about three months. More than 98% of Musk’s fortune is tied to his stakes in SpaceX and Tesla.

The latest jump came as both companies’ shares rallied. SpaceX gained 7.6% on Monday to close at $171.09, while Tesla rose 2.17% to $378.62. SpaceX shares are now up about 13% since the beginning of October, while Tesla has gained 6.7% over the same period.

At Monday’s close, SpaceX was valued at about $2.32 trillion, according to market data, making it one of the world’s most valuable companies. The stock has gained about 24% from its $135 IPO price in June. Tesla, meanwhile, ended the session with a market capitalisation of about $1.5 trillion.

SpaceX rebound restores Musk’s trillionaire status

The rally marks a sharp reversal from the turbulence that followed SpaceX’s record-breaking stock market debut.

SpaceX listed on the Nasdaq in June at $135 a share. On its first day of trading, the stock jumped 19% to close at $160.95, pushing the company’s valuation to about $2.2 trillion and Musk’s fortune to $1.1 trillion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. That made Musk the world’s first trillionaire.

The milestone, however, lasted only briefly. Musk’s fortune climbed as high as roughly $1.3 trillion after the IPO before SpaceX shares began falling on concerns that the company’s valuation had moved too far, too quickly. By June 24, just 12 days after the listing, his wealth had fallen to about $957 billion, taking him below the trillion-dollar threshold.

The decline continued through the summer. By late July, Musk had lost more than $600 billion from his peak wealth, according to Bloomberg’s index, in one of the largest single-period swings ever recorded in the ranking.

The latest recovery has been driven by renewed investor confidence in SpaceX, along with stronger-than-expected sales at Tesla. SpaceX shares have rebounded 58% from their August low, while analysts described the company as one of the cheaper ways to gain exposure to the space and intelligence sectors.