Musk regains trillionaire status as SpaceX and Tesla shares climb

Elon Musk regained trillionaire status on Monday after gains in the share prices of SpaceX and Tesla lifted his net worth back above the $1 trillion mark.

Musk's fortune increased by more than $60 billion during the session, recovering from recent declines that had temporarily pushed his wealth below the threshold, says Forbes.

The increase was driven by a 7.6% rise in SpaceX shares and an 8.6% jump in Tesla shares. The rebound followed a period of volatility in which Musk's net worth had fallen to an estimated $962 billion the previous week.

Musk had previously reached a peak net worth of $1.45 trillion on 16 June before losing his trillionaire status as investor attention shifted towards the artificial intelligence sector.

The latest recovery further reinforces Musk's position as the world's richest person, maintaining a substantial lead over other individuals on global wealth rankings.

Musk's holdings remain heavily tied to the performance of his companies. He owns approximately 4.8 billion shares in SpaceX and about 700 million shares in Tesla. He also holds 350 million stock options with an exercise price of $8.40 per share.

His wealth has also recently been affected by changes tied to Tesla compensation arrangements. A $7.1 billion transfer of Tesla shares was used to cover costs associated with exercising stock options from Musk's 2018 compensation package.

The compensation package had previously faced legal challenges but was reinstated by the Delaware Supreme Court in late 2025 after an earlier rejection. Under the terms of the arrangement, exercised options are converted into restricted shares, which Musk can retain if he remains Tesla's chief executive or a senior operations executive through January 2028.