NEW YORK – Mr Elon Musk’s net worth hit a record high of US$347.8 billion (S$469 billion) on Nov 22, driven by Tesla’s ongoing stock market rally and a new funding round valuing his US$50 billion artificial intelligence startup xAI.

Mr. Musk’s many companies have risen in value since Donald Trump’s election victory propelled Mr. Musk, the so-called “first pal,” into the political spotlight.

Tesla shares rose 3.8% on November 22, reflecting continued optimism that the Trump team’s plans for self-driving cars and electric vehicle subsidies will give Mr. Musk’s company a advantage over its peers.

The stock has risen 45 percent since Nov. 4, the day before the election, adding about $350 billion to the market value.

Meanwhile, xAI’s value has more than doubled since its last fundraising in May, with the Wall Street Journal reporting that Trump’s victory helped attract interest from new investors.

And Trump joined Mr. Musk at a SpaceX launch on November 20; the company is discussing a private stock sale that would raise its value to more than $250 billion.

Mr. Musk, already the world’s richest person, is now richer than his previous high of $340.4 billion set in November 2021, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His fortune – more than two-thirds of which comes from Tesla stocks and options – has increased 35% since the day before the election.

Political plans

Mr. Musk, 53, aligned himself with Trump in the latter stages of the race, campaigning alongside him in battleground states and personally contributing more than $170 million to a political action committee supporting the Republican candidate.

Members of Trump’s transition team have told advisers they plan to make a federal framework for autonomous vehicles a priority for the Department of Transportation, which would likely allow for a broader rollout of cars without human control.

This would be a boon for Tesla, which has made the deployment of these cars and trucks the centerpiece of its future strategy.

Current U.S. federal policy allows Tesla and other automakers to deploy only 2,500 fully autonomous vehicles per year.

During Tesla’s latest earnings conference call, Mr. Musk complained about being hamstrung by disparate state-level regulations, such as in California, that have limited his ability to develop its self-driving technology.

Mr. Musk will co-lead the new Department of Government Effectiveness, which he said he would use to cut bureaucracy and regulation.

Trump also reportedly favors eliminating electric vehicle tax credits of up to US$7,500 and reducing emissions regulations put in place by President Joe Biden’s administration.

That would hurt traditional automakers more than Tesla, whose sales rely less on federal support than many of its competitors, according to a Bloomberg Intelligence report. BLOOMBERG