Tech billionaire, Elon Musk’s wealth experienced a rise in the last six weeks as the shares of his electric car company, Tesla, soared.
This is in the face of heavy investor pressure to acquire Tesla stock.
Between January and now, his net worth has climbed by a stunning $45 billion.
Mr. Musk’s net worth of $182 billion is now comparable to that of the world’s richest man, Bernard Arnault’s $187 billion.
Since January, the share price of the electric vehicle manufacturer has increased by 65% to $201.29, according to Nairametrics.
Elon Musk, the world’s second-richest billionaire, has seen the highest growth in wealth this year.
Tesla’s rise in value, like the general market’s, was fueled by higher-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and other events that the market interpreted as positive indicators of future performance.
Investors are betting big on the stock because data shows that the company is doing well despite increased geopolitical risks.
The most favorable value trigger was the company’s Q4 results, which were disclosed on Jan. 25.
The EV maker reported non-GAAP (adjusted) profits per share of $1.19 on $24.32 billion in revenue, compared to the consensus analyst estimate of $1.13 on $24.16 billion in sales.
The top and bottom-line beats gave the stock a new burst of upward momentum, but there were other drivers of success in the prior month.
Previously, Tesla investors expressed concern that Musk’s outside commitments were distracting him from Tesla’s issues.
They were also concerned that Musk might sell Tesla stock to fund Twitter’s losses, but Musk assuaged investors’ concerns on February 5 by stating that Twitter was close to breaking even.
This reduced the likelihood of more Tesla stock sales. Tesla’s stock has climbed by almost 6% since then. The Nasdaq Composite is down roughly 2% over the same period.
However, other investors are staying away since rising interest rates have put pressure on the values of many growth companies.
However, it appears like tensions are beginning to lessen on that front.
At its February 1 meeting, the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates by 25 basis points, a welcome relief from the central bank’s previous four 75-basis-point increases and one 50-basis-point increase.
The Fed expects rates to rise indefinitely, but it looks like rate hikes are having the desired effect of controlling inflation.
Remember that Elon Musk had such a poor year in 2022 that he broke the Guinness World Record for the most money lost by one person.
Musk had lost almost $200 billion since November 2021, owing primarily to the dismal performance of Tesla shares.