Topline
Shares of Tesla surged by 12% Wednesday morning, sending the company’s stock toward a new record while adding $15 billion to Elon Musk’s fortune after Donald Trump was reelected as president, and lavished praise on the world’s wealthiest person.
Trump praised Elon Musk as a “super genius” for his support throughout his campaign.
Key Facts
Tesla’s shares rose to over $280 as of around 10:10 a.m. EST, pacing what would be a new record for the stock, eclipsing a previous high of $273.54 set on Oct. 27.
Trump praised Tesla’s chief executive as a “super genius” and a “new star” during his victory speech early Wednesday, after Musk spent weeks campaigning for Trump throughout Pennsylvania before Election Day.
Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives wrote earlier this year a second Trump presidency would be an “overall negative for the EV industry,” though the financial services firm also viewed it as a “huge positive for Tesla” because the company has the “scale and scope that is unmatched” in the industry.
Trump’s plan to implement tariffs on Chinese imports would also deter Tesla’s Chinese competitors BYD—which Ives noted overtook Tesla as the world’s largest EV maker at the time—and NIO from “flooding the U.S. market over the coming years,” Ives said.
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Forbes Valuation
Musk is the wealthiest person in the world with a fortune valued at $280.3 billion, after his stake—totaling about 13% of Tesla’s outstanding shares—increased by $15 billion, according to our latest estimates.
Key Background
Musk was among the more prominent supporters of Trump during his election campaign. The Tesla CEO poured at least $118 million into his America PAC to help support Trump, meaning Musk was Trump’s second largest backer behind Timothy Mellon. Musk’s America PAC also awarded $1 million to voters in swing states through a giveaway that was briefly paused by a Philadelphia court. In September, Trump said he would create a “government efficiency commission” first proposed by Musk, who has indicated he would lead the agency. During the election cycle, Musk appeared alongside Trump at multiple rallies and supported his campaign on social media. Trump has said he was a “big fan” of electric vehicles, though he said at an earlier rally to not “bother with the electric” and claimed in a March interview that the vehicles “cost too much” and all will “be made in China.”