Donald Trump-backing Tesla CEO Elon Musk scored his own victory Wednesday as shares in the electric car company surged nearly 15% — adding roughly another $20 billion to the net worth of the world’s richest person.
The billionaire tech founder donated millions to a pro-Trump PAC, rallied on the former president’s behalf and swayed Americans to vote early with a $1 million-a-day sweepstakes.
His efforts paid off as Trump trounced Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential election Tuesday.
Trump called Musk a “super genius” in taking a victory lap in the wee hours Wednesday after getting enough electoral votes to clinch a return to the White House.
Musk, who was pictured at Mar-a-Lago with Trump as they awaited election results, posted a photo of himself saluting the American flag on his social media platform X on Wednesday.
“It is morning in America again,” Musk wrote.
Trump has said he would consider ending a tax credit for electric vehicle purchases, which could hamper EV makers’ sales.
“Tesla has the scale and scope that is unmatched in the EV industry and this dynamic could give Musk and Tesla a clear competitive advantage in a non-EV subsidy environment, coupled by likely higher China tariffs that would continue to push away cheaper Chinese EV players (BYD, Nio, etc.) from flooding the US market over the coming years,” he said.
Ives said Trump could also push through some autonomous initiatives for Tesla and Waymo cars.
“We believe a Trump win could add $40-$50 per share to Tesla’s stock if autonomous/FSD is accelerated starting in 2025 and a tailwind for Cybercab,” the analyst said.
On Wednesday, Tesla gained $37.09, or 14.75%, to close at $288.53 — boosting the company’s market cap by $120 billion.
Musk owns a 13% stake in the pioneering EV company for the vast bulk of his fortune, giving him a one-day haul of more than $20 billion and putting his estimated fortune at $285.6 billion, according to Forbes.
“Musk basically hedged his bets by his association with Trump and likely will get favorable treatment from the Trump administration,” said Dennis Dick, trader at Triple D Trading.
Trump has vowed to appoint Musk as the head of a new Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE – a reference to the popular memecoin.
During a speech at Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden last month, Musk claimed he could save the federal budget $2 trillion as part of the government efficiency commission.
“Your money is being wasted, and the department of government efficiency is gonna fix that,” he said. “We’re going to get the government off your back and out of your pocketbook.”
It is not clear how Musk will address his conflicts of interest in the auto, space, health, construction and artificial intelligence industries, or whether he will leverage the interests during a Trump administration that takes a hands-off approach to regulation.
A role overseeing deregulation and cutting spending would give Musk “influence over US policy on AI, space exploration and EVs — all of which Musk has a direct interest in via Tesla and other ventures,” said Mamta Valechha, consumer discretionary analyst at Quilter Cheviot.
Musk may try to wield his influence to reduce regulatory oversight of his businesses. He has been a vocal critic of federal review of his SpaceX rocket business and wants to speed up approval of his autonomous driving technology.
He is also a big proponent of carbon-free energy, as Tesla is a major supplier of solar systems and batteries. Trump has promised to kill the offshore wind industry and rescind all unspent funds under the Inflation Reduction Act — Biden’s signature climate law.
However, Republican-dominated states have seen big gains from the law; Musk is building his second US EV factory in Texas.
With Post wires
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