December 24, 2024

Tesla CEO and X owner Musk speaks at a Tesla product launch event in Los Angeles, California, USA on October 10, 2024

Source: Tesla | Youtube

Tesla Chief executive Elon Musk, already the world’s richest man, added another $26 billion to his paper wealth on Thursday after the company’s stock price posted its biggest jump since 2013.

According to data, Musk is currently worth approximately US$269 billion. Forbesputting him more than $50 billion ahead of his friend and former Tesla board member Larry Ellison, who remains the company’s largest shareholder Oracle.

Musk controls nearly 13% of Tesla’s outstanding shares, the majority of his net worth, but he also owns a large stake in SpaceX, which is valued on the private market at more than $200 billion. In addition, he is also the controlling shareholder of X (formerly Twitter) and artificial intelligence startup xAI.

Musk’s wealth could be even higher, depending on the outcome of a shareholder lawsuit over his 2018 compensation package that is making its way through the courts.

Late Thursday, Tesla released a better-than-expected profit report, and Musk commented on a conference call that “automotive growth” will reach 20% to 30% next year. Tesla shares closed soaring 22%, the company’s second-largest gain since its IPO in 2010.

Tesla shares had been falling ahead of the earnings report and were on track for their worst month since January. But the stock has erased this year’s losses and is now up 5% in 2024, compared with the Nasdaq’s 23% gain.

Tesla reported earnings of 72 cents per share, above analysts’ average estimate of 58 cents. Environmental supervision credit revenue of US$739 million, and the company’s fully autonomous driving supervision system FSD revenue of US$326 million, both drove profit growth.

Clockwise's Cakmak says there are

Musk spent much of the earnings call touting his promised Tesla self-driving future, including a ride-hailing service that he said would be available to the public in Texas and California as early as next year. Two weeks ago, Tesla held its long-awaited robotaxi event, showcasing its Cybercab concept.

However, although alphabetical Waymo has been offering commercial self-driving services to the public since June, but Tesla has been unable to meet expectations in bringing the product to market. The company still does not make or sell cars that are safe to use without a driver behind the wheel, ready to steer or brake at any time.

Although Musk launched a heavy-duty Semi truck and an updated version of the Roadster in 2017, the design of the Roadster has not yet been finalized, and the company is only in the “trial production” stage of the Semi.

One topic Musk didn’t address during Wednesday’s call was his campaign and massive spending in support of Donald Trump.

Musk has publicly supported Trump since shortly after the first assassination attempt in July, and has since stepped up his rhetoric, particularly on X, and donated tens of millions of dollars to political action committees supporting the Republican nominee.

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk speaks with former President Donald Trump during a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show on Saturday, October 5, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania Trump) had a conversation.

Jabin Botsford | The Washington Post | Getty Images

Musk has been campaigning in the key swing state of Pennsylvania, which he has called “key” to the election. Over the weekend, he said he would randomly award $1 million a day to registered voters who signed petitions from a pro-Trump political action committee to lure his supporters in battleground states to the polls.

The U.S. Department of Justice warned the PAC that Musk’s voter lottery could violate federal election laws, a person familiar with the matter told NBC News on Wednesday.

Ahead of the earnings call, many investors raised questions about Musk’s political activities.

“Musk has a right to express his political views, but his public activism appears to be incompatible with his desire to protect shareholder value as CEO,” one anonymous retail investor wrote on a forum Tesla uses to solicit investor questions. Responsibilities Conflicted “How does Tesla solve this problem? Can it confirm that Musk’s actions won’t hurt sales or growth? “

Prior to the call, the comment had received 168 votes in favor. Another question that received 527 votes was whether Tesla’s board was taking steps to ensure that Musk’s “political involvement does not harm Tesla’s core mission and protects shareholder value and brand integrity.”

in a Post on X Earlier this week, Musk wrote, “I think this election is critical for America.”

watch: Surprisingly, technology was barely mentioned in Musk’s conversation with Trump

Niki Christoff says it's surprising that tech was barely mentioned in Musk's conversation with Trump

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