You might be wondering just how rich they could be if they’d invested in Elon Musk’s companies a decade ago, when he was still just a rich guy and not the richest man alive, according to Forbes.
After all, he must have made smart investments to get so rich, right? So why couldn’t you be just as rich if you’d invested in the same way? Or at least super rich?
So, let’s take a look at the companies Musk founded and how they’ve helped him grow his wealth, as well as how rich you’d be if you’d invested 10 years ago.
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Musk’s Companies
Musk has indeed grown rich as a result of founding and then selling companies that went on to become very successful. His first company, Zip2, is now long gone, having been absorbed by another company. But it is where he made his first millions when he sold it and made $22 million, according to Forbes.
He then took that money and invested in PayPal and that’s where our story begins.
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PayPal
Musk founded PayPal with his friend and business partner at the time, Peter Thiel. Though the application, aimed at allowing businesses to pay each other digitally, didn’t get off to a great start, it has since done very well. PayPal is now one of the most used applications for the transfer of funds between parties.
Musk is no longer involved with PayPal. In fact, he was removed from the company as CEO and replaced by Thiel by the board. Like with Zip2, the board found Musk to be a less-than-ideal leader. But that doesn’t mean his initial idea wasn’t great.
Indeed, if you invested in PayPal back in 2015, when the company split from eBay to become its own entity, your stock growth would be about 200%. It’s not rocket growth, of course, but it’s still not bad. As of July 2015, PayPal stock was worth $38 per share, according to Nasdaq. As of June 2025, it’s worth $74.
So, if you’d invested $10,000 in PayPal 10 years ago, today, you’d have $19,500. Not bad.
SpaceX
SpaceX is one of the companies Musk is most well-known for. It has helped contribute to better telecommunications via its Starlink offshoot and it is heavily funded by government programs to explore space.
Since 2008, the United States taxpayers have paid SpaceX more than $20 billion in government contracts, according to Fox Business. Musk’s 42% stake today is valued at $147 billion, according to Forbes. SpaceX is not publicly traded, but you can buy it with a tool like EquityZen.
Tesla
Tesla is perhaps the other most well-known of Musk’s companies. In 2004, two men, Martin Eberhard and Marc Terpenning, founded the car company after the inventor Nikola Tesla to create electric vehicles for eco-conscious drivers.
Though Musk invested in Tesla early on and was chairman of the board, he took over as CEO in 2008, after ousting Eberhard. The company continued to do well, but it was not the phenomenon it is today.
In 2015, the average closing price of Tesla stock was $16 per share, according to Macrotrends. As of June 2025, Tesla stock, even down from its height, is trading for $317 per share.
That’s a growth of more than 1,900%. In short, if you invested $10,000 in Tesla stock 10 years ago, you’d have approximately $304,000 today.
OpenAI
Many people still don’t know about OpenAI, Musk’s nonprofit, which he co-founded in 2015. The purpose of this company is to research friendly AI that supports humanity. He has since resigned from the board due to Tesla AI conflicts.
And because it is a non-profit, privately owned company, investors cannot buy shares, so you would not have been able to make any money here, either.
To Invest or Not To Invest?
In the end, you can’t know for sure what will do well and what won’t, but understanding patterns is helpful. This is why it’s worth looking back at how investors make their money.
It’s also helpful to understand that Musk made his first billion not from investing in companies but from buying and selling them, which is a huge difference.
If you’re going to invest, it might be a good idea to look at index funds and diversified funds, rather than putting all your eggs in one or two baskets. Unless you’ve got the capital to invest in a startup and the mind to foresee its success.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: If You Had Invested in Elon Musk’s Companies 10 Years Ago, Here’s How Much You’d Have Today
