Under the leadership of CEO Elon Musk, electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla saw its stock price surge over 4% on Wednesday, reaching an all-time intraday high. Bloomberg News reported that bolstered by the rise in Tesla’s stock and the increased valuation of Musk’s other company, SpaceX, his net worth has swelled to over $400 billion.
Tesla Stock Reaches Record High in Intraday Trading
As of 1:14 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, Tesla’s stock was trading at $417.85, up 4.2% from the previous day, marking a 52-week high. This surpasses the prior record closing price of $409.97 on November 4, 2021.
Tesla’s stock opened at $409.70 and has steadily climbed, marking its sixth consecutive day of gains since November 4.
If it closes with an increase of over 2.24%, it will mark its highest level in over three years.
Tesla’s stock price soared above $400 during the tech boom of 2021 when interest rates were at historic lows. However, it later plummeted to $108.10 on January 3, 2023.
Subsequently, optimism surrounding Tesla’s technology and new vehicle launches helped the stock recover to the upper $200s in the latter half of last year. Yet, it dipped again to $142.05 on April 22 this year, affected by a slowdown in the electric vehicle market.
The stock rebounded to the mid-$200s in October, buoyed by CEO Musk’s confidence in autonomous driving technology and the announcement of plans for a robotaxi business.
Investor enthusiasm for Tesla intensified after Donald Trump’s presidential election victory on November 6.
Musk actively supported Trump’s campaign and emerged as a close advisor, leading to a 38% increase in Tesla’s stock in November.
Compared to the election day price of $251.44, the stock has skyrocketed by about 66%.
Market expectations for substantial deregulation of Tesla’s autonomous vehicle operations have been fueled by Musk’s appointment as co-chair of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an advisory body proposing federal spending cuts and deregulation.
Wall Street analysts, including Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities and Adam Jonas of Morgan Stanley, have raised Tesla’s price target to $400. Morgan Stanley recently named Tesla as its top pick in the automotive sector.
Musk’s Wealth Reaches Unprecedented Heights
Bloomberg reported that Musk was the first individual to have a net worth exceeding $400 billion.
The surge in Tesla’s stock price, combined with recent insider stock sales at his privately-held company, SpaceX, has been a key driver of Musk’s rapidly growing net worth.
According to Bloomberg, a recent public buyback by SpaceX insiders, including employees and early shareholders, saw shares trading at $185 each, valuing the company at approximately $350 billion.
As a result, Musk’s net worth, bolstered by his significant stake in SpaceX, has increased by about $50 billion, bringing his total net worth to $439.2 billion, Bloomberg reported.
The rise in SpaceX’s valuation is partly attributed to expectations that Musk’s growing political influence will lead to regulatory relaxation in the space industry, enhancing the company’s profitability.
On December 4, Trump nominated billionaire Jared Isaacman, a financial backer of Musk’s space ventures, to head NASA.
The valuation of xAI, Musk’s AI startup, is also on an upward trajectory.
According to CNBC, xAI was valued at around $50 billion during a mid-November funding round, more than doubling from its $24 billion valuation in May.
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