Tesla shares spiked 11.2% on Monday, boosting Elon Musk’s net worth by $7 billion to $83.6 billion. The hefty stock gain makes the 49-year-old entrepreneur the fifth-richest person in the world, pushing Musk ahead of Indian oil and gas tycoon Mukesh Ambani and investing luminary Warren Buffett.
Not that he’s keeping track. The eccentric billionaire says he’s indifferent to his standing on our rich list. “I really couldn’t care less,” Musk emailed Forbes about his net worth in July. “These numbers rise and fall, but what really matters is making great products that people love.”
Musk first rose to fifth place in late July, when his net worth topped $74 billion, but was soon surpassed by Ambani. Now Tesla shares are up nearly 32% in the past five days. With the stock on a tear, Musk’s fortune has more than tripled since mid-March, when he ranked 31st on Forbes’ World’s Billionaires list. He owns 21% of Tesla but has pledged more than half his stake as collateral for loans; Forbes applies a discount to his shares because of the loans.
The stock jumped on Monday after an analyst upgraded his 12-month price target to $1,900; Tesla’s share price is currently $1,835.64. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives believes that Tesla, which opened a new factory in Shanghai in late 2019, is well-positioned to take advantage of increasing Chinese demand for electric vehicles. Ives also predicted that Musk will reveal “game-changing” news at the upcoming Battery Day on September 22.
Tesla is the most valuable automaker in the world, with a market capitalization of $342 billion despite producing substantially fewer vehicles than competitors such as Ford and Toyota. A five-for-one stock split will take effect after the market closes on August 28.
