Billionaire entrepreneur and chief executive of social media X, Elon Musk , saw his wealth surged by approximately $13 billion just hours after his ally, Donald Trump, secured victory in the 2024 United States presidential election.
As markets reacted early Wednesday, investors were already anticipating a win for Trump would translate into gains for Musk’s electric vehicle company, Tesla. Shares of Tesla (TSLA) soared by 13% at the market open, according to a report by CNN.
This rapid rise in Tesla’s stock value boosted the worth of Musk’s 411 million shares, adding over $13 billion to his fortune.
Musk has been one of Trump’s most prominent supporters in the business community. He has donated nearly $119 million to a political action committee (PAC) he created to back Trump’s campaign, according to filings from the Federal Election Commission. The Tesla CEO has also appeared alongside Trump at campaign rallies and conducted a highly publicized interview with him on X, the social media platform Musk owns.
“He’s bet big here. He dove into the deep end of the pool on this election,” said Daniel Ives, a tech analyst at Wedbush Securities, commenting on Musk’s outspoken support for Trump.
While much of Musk’s net worth was tied to Tesla and other ventures that have benefited from government support, including SpaceX, analysts suggest that even if Trump’s presidency leads to a reduction in federal backing for electric vehicles (EVs), Tesla may continue to thrive.
Though Trump previously criticised electric vehicles, stating they were too expensive, had limited range, and could harm jobs in the auto industry, some experts believed that a rollback of government incentives could favour Tesla, which became a dominant player in the EV market.
Musk appeared unfazed by those potential challenges, taking to his platform X to celebrate Trump’s victory. “The people of America gave @realDonaldTrump a crystal clear mandate for change tonight,” Musk tweeted late Tuesday.
Trump’s campaign rhetoric also included a pledge to end what he called “Biden’s EV mandate,” though no specific mandate existed. Under President Biden, there were significant federal support for the electric vehicle industry, including billions in loans to automakers for building EV factories and battery plants, as well as a $7,500 tax credit for EV buyers. How Trump’s administration might alter this support remained unclear, but analysts predicted that Musk’s wealth and Tesla’s market position were unlikely to be significantly affected in the near term.
