NEW YORK: Elon Musk started 2022 with a bang.
Tesla Inc reported it had smashed its previous record for vehicle deliveries, spurring a rally in the electric car-maker’s shares and creating one of the biggest one-day jumps in wealth.
Musk’s fortune jumped by $33.8 billion on Monday to $304.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Jeff Bezos, second on the list, has a $196 billion fortune.
Tesla’s shares rose 13.5% to $1,199.78 on Monday after fourth-quarter results handily exceeded analysts’ estimates for auto deliveries.
The company’s market valuation jumped back above $1 trillion last month after a dip in November and early December.
Musk, who owns about 18% of Tesla, helped trigger the slide when he said he would reduce his stake in the company by 10%. He’s sold more than $10 billion worth of shares since November, part of a plan to generate cash to pay tax obligations.
Musk’s net worth, which also includes his stake in rocket manufacterer SpaceX, reached a high of $340 billion last year, surpassing the peak inflation-adjusted net worth of John D Rockefeller and briefly making him the richest person in modern history.
