Overview

• Elon Musk crossed the half‑trillion mark around 3:30 p.m. ET on Oct. 1, per Forbes’ real‑time tracker, before slipping back below it by the market close.
• Tesla shares rose roughly 3.3% to nearly 4% on Wednesday, adding an estimated $6 billion to $9.3 billion to Musk’s fortune as investors bet on his renewed focus on the company.
• Much of the estimate reflects private stakes, including roughly 42% of SpaceX at a valuation near $400 billion and a majority holding in xAI with valuations cited between about $75 billion and $113 billion.
• Other methodologies pegged his wealth lower, with Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index placing Musk around $459 billion to $470 billion based on end‑of‑day calculations.
• Forbes factors in contested and contingent elements, discounting value tied to Tesla’s voided 2018 award pending appeal, while a newly proposed performance package could be worth up to $1 trillion if ambitious targets are met.