Elon Musk’s net worth crosses $300B as Trump bet pays off

Elon Musk’s net worth has crossed $300 billion for the first time in nearly three years, as shares of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) soared on hopes that his support for President-elect Donald Trump would pay off for the company.

Shares of the electric automaker crossed the $1 trillion market cap for the first in over two years on Friday.

Trump’s plan to relax environmental rules is seen as providing an incentive to other automakers to slow down their EV ramps even further, helping Tesla (TSLA) maintain its hold on the domestic EV market.

Analysts also see less aggressive scrutiny under a Trump administration on the automated driving front. Musk has abandoned plans to develop an affordable EV priced under $30,000, focusing instead on self-driving technology.

“The biggest winner from a Trump White House remains Tesla and Musk which made a strategic big bet on Trump that will pay major dividends for years to come,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives.

The world’s richest man has arguably been the most prominent Trump backer, spending over $130 million on the campaign and constantly voicing his support on social media platform X.

Trump praised Musk in his victory speech, saying, “we have a new star, a star is born: Elon.”

While the President-elect once said he would consider ending a $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicle buyers, he seems to have changed his position.

“I’m for electric cars. I have to be, you know, because Elon endorsed me very strongly, Elon. So I have no choice,” Trump said at an Atlanta rally in August.

Trump has voiced his support for Musk’s SpaceX and his ambitions to reach Mars. He has also said that he would appoint Musk to head a government efficiency commission.

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