Musk becomes first person ever to see wealth top $500bn

Tesla boss Elon Musk has become the first person ever to achieve a net worth of more than $500bn (£370.9bn), as the value of the electric car company and his other businesses have risen this year.

The tech magnate's net worth briefly reached $500.1bn on Wednesday afternoon New York time, before dipping slightly to just over $499bn later in the day, the Forbes billionaires index reported.

Alongside Tesla, valuations of his other ventures, including the artificial intelligence start-up xAI and rocket company SpaceX, have also reportedly climbed in recent months.

The milestone further cements Musk's status as the world's richest person, well ahead of rivals in the global tech sector.

According to Forbes' billionaires index, Oracle founder Larry Ellison is the world's second richest person, with a fortune of about $350.7bn.

Mr Ellison briefly overtook Musk last month after shares in Oracle soared by more than 40%, boosted by the firm's surprisingly rosy outlook for its cloud infrastructure business and artificial intelligence (AI) deals.

Musk's huge wealth is closely tied to his more than 12% stake in Tesla, which has seen its shares rise sharply this year.

Tesla shares were more than 3.3% higher at the end of New York trading on Wednesday and have now risen by over 20% this year.

The company's shares have been making gains in recent months as investors welcome Musk focusing more time on his companies rather than politics.

He faced criticism earlier this year over his work with the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the body tasked with reducing US government spending and cutting jobs.

Musk, who also owns the X social media platform, has also been vocal about his views on issues such as immigration and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programmes.

The chair of Tesla's board, Robyn Denholm, said in September that Musk was now "front and centre" at the carmaker.

The company's board also said Musk could receive a pay package worth over $1tn if he hits a list of ambitious targets over the next decade.

To get the package he would need to boost Tesla's value eightfold, sell a million AI robots, sell another 12 million Tesla cars, and hit several other goals.

Also last month, Musk announced that he had bought about $1bn worth of Tesla shares in what has been seen by some investors as a vote of confidence in the firm.

Tesla has faced a number of challenges in recent years, including tough competition from rival electric car makers such as China's BYD.

The company is also in the process of transitioning into an AI and robotics business.