Elon Musk's Wealth Surpasses the Trillion-Dollar Mark Again as SpaceX Drives Growth
American businessman Elon Musk has returned to the trillionaire club once again, as a strong surge in shares of SpaceX and Tesla pushed his net worth above $1 trillion, marking the latest development in the race among the world’s wealthiest individuals.
Forbes estimated Musk’s wealth at approximately $1 trillion during trading, an increase of about $30.6 billion compared to the previous trading session, allowing him to maintain his top spot on the global wealth rankings by a wide margin over his competitors.
The surge was primarily driven by a rise in SpaceX’s stock, which climbed more than 7% during Monday’s session and closed at around $171, its highest closing price since its initial public offering in June last year. Tesla’s shares also gained, directly boosting the wealth of the founder of both companies.
The rise in SpaceX’s valuation was not merely a fleeting market movement; it followed an optimistic assessment by Morgan Stanley, which maintained its positive recommendation for the stock and set a target price of $300, considering the shares appear undervalued when factoring in future growth prospects.
Investors are simultaneously anticipating the next phase of the Starship program, after the fourteenth test flight achieved a significant milestone by reaching low Earth orbit for the first time and deploying Starlink satellites, further bolstering optimism about SpaceX’s ability to accelerate its space program.
In the automotive sector, Tesla received another boost after the company announced deliveries of 486,532 vehicles in the third quarter of 2026, surpassing analysts’ expectations of approximately 456,896 cars. These results have revived hopes for the company’s return to annual delivery growth after two years of decline.
Musk first became the world’s first person to exceed a net worth of $1 trillion in June last year, following the launch of SpaceX shares on the US market. However, his wealth subsequently declined as shares of both SpaceX and Tesla fell, temporarily distancing him from that record level.
Musk’s wealth surge largely reflects the nature of his financial ties to the companies in which he holds substantial stakes; any sharp fluctuation in Tesla or SpaceX stock prices can add or subtract tens of billions from his paper wealth within a short period.
Musk’s empire is not limited to automobiles and space; he continues to advance his investments and ambitions in artificial intelligence. He recently announced the renaming of SpaceX’s AI unit from “SpaceXAI” to “SpaceXSI,” referencing the concept of “superintelligence” promoted by US President Donald Trump.
With SpaceX’s rise and growing investor bets on space and artificial intelligence, Musk’s wealth is increasingly tied to projects that transcend traditional technology sectors, making his position at the top of the global wealth rankings vulnerable to rapid shifts with every surge or decline in his companies’ stock prices.
