Elon Musk Just Became $788 Billion Rich—And He Might Hit $1 Trillion Next

The world’s wealthiest person just shattered his own record, and the number is almost too big to comprehend.

Elon Musk’s fortune jumped to a mind-boggling $788.1 billion on Thursday, setting a new all-time high that makes every other billionaire look like they’re playing with pocket change. To put that in perspective, he could buy every NFL team, throw in a few small countries, and still have enough left over to fund a mission to Mars. Which, knowing Musk, he probably will.

What Just Happened?

Tesla’s stock shot up more than 4% Thursday after Musk made a promise that got investors buzzing: his company’s robotaxi fleet will be “very, very widespread” across America by the end of this year. He was speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos—you know, that gathering where billionaires fly private jets to talk about climate change—and casually dropped the news that Austin, Texas, would see the first robotaxis rolling out in June.

Wall Street loved it. Musk’s net worth jumped nearly $13 billion in a single day. Just another Thursday for the world’s richest person.

How Did We Get Here?

Musk didn’t wake up one morning worth three-quarters of a trillion dollars. His wealth explosion over the past year reads like someone playing a video game on easy mode:

• October: First person ever to hit $500 billion
• December: Crossed $600 billion
• Four days later: Blew past $700 billion
• Now: Knocking on $800 billion’s door

And here’s the kicker—he might actually hit $1 trillion. Tesla approved a compensation package in November that could theoretically be worth a trillion dollars if the company hits certain targets. A trillion. With a T.

It’s Not Just About Cars Anymore

While Tesla gets most of the headlines, Musk’s empire has grown into something much bigger. SpaceX’s value doubled to $800 billion (yes, you read that right), up from $400 billion just last August. His AI company, xAI, recently raised $20 billion at a $250 billion valuation, adding another $62 billion to his personal wealth.

Oh, and remember that legal battle over his Tesla stock options? The Delaware Supreme Court just handed him a win worth about $126 billion. That’s more money than most countries’ annual budgets, just sitting there as a legal footnote.

But Is Everything Actually Going Great?

Here’s where things get interesting. Despite the stock surge and massive valuation, Tesla just reported some rough numbers. The company delivered about 418,000 vehicles in the last quarter—a 16% drop from the year before. That’s not great when you’re supposed to be growing, not shrinking.

Even worse? China’s BYD just overtook Tesla as the world’s largest electric vehicle maker, with sales jumping 28% to 2.26 million units. Tesla’s getting beat in the EV game by a company most Americans have never heard of.

So why is Musk’s wealth still skyrocketing? Because investors aren’t betting on today’s car sales—they’re betting on tomorrow’s robotaxis, AI breakthroughs, and Mars colonies.

The Competition Isn’t Even Close

Let’s talk about how far ahead Musk actually is. The second-richest person on Earth is Google co-founder Larry Page at $270.4 billion. That’s impressive until you realize Musk is nearly three times richer. Page, Sergey Brin ($249.5 billion), Jeff Bezos ($245.5 billion), Larry Ellison ($227 billion), and Mark Zuckerberg ($222.1 billion) could combine their fortunes and still wouldn’t catch him.

Think about that. The five people below Musk on the rich list, with their combined wealth of over $1.2 trillion, would need to team up just to have more money than one guy.

Will the Robotaxis Actually Happen?

This is the million-dollar question. Or rather, the hundred-billion-dollar question. Musk has a history of making big promises about self-driving cars that don’t quite materialize on schedule. Remember when Full Self-Driving was supposed to be ready years ago?

But here’s the thing: even when he’s late, he often delivers something eventually. And investors seem perfectly happy to wait, as evidenced by that 4% stock jump on Thursday.

If Tesla actually launches a functioning robotaxi fleet by year’s end, it would transform the company from a carmaker into a transportation platform. That’s Uber, but without the drivers, and with all the profit going to Tesla. You can see why Wall Street gets excited.

What’s Coming Next Week Could Change Everything

Tesla reports its fourth-quarter earnings on January 28. That’s when we’ll get the full picture of how the company performed during the holiday season and what management expects for the robotaxi rollout.

If the numbers disappoint or the robotaxi timeline gets pushed back, we could see Musk’s fortune drop by tens of billions overnight. If the earnings beat expectations and Musk doubles down on his autonomous vehicle promises, he might add another $50 billion before February.

Also Read: Gold and Silver Prices Jump Today: Silver Soars ₹12,600, Gold Up ₹2,800 on MCX

The Bigger Picture

We’re watching something unprecedented unfold. No human in history has ever been this wealthy. Not John D. Rockefeller (who was worth about $400 billion in today’s dollars at his peak). Not the pharaohs. Not ancient emperors. Nobody.

And it’s happening in real-time, with Musk adding what most people would consider generational wealth every few days. He’s gained nearly $300 billion in about three months—that’s more than the entire net worth of Warren Buffett.

Love him or hate him, agree with his politics or think he should stay off Twitter (sorry, “X”), you can’t deny we’re witnessing history. The first person to reach $500 billion happened in 2024. The first trillion-dollar fortune might happen in 2025.

The real question isn’t whether Musk will get richer—at this point, that seems inevitable. It’s what he’ll do with all that money, and whether Tesla’s promised robotaxis will actually show up in Austin this summer.

We’ll find out soon enough. In the meantime, the world’s richest person just keeps getting richer, one ambitious promise at a time.