Despite courting controversy just about everywhere he goes, Elon Musk's vast fortune has continued to grow. 

His wealth surpassed $500 billion for the first time on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, according to Forbes. The richest person on the planet, Musk was the first individual in history to reach that milestone. 

Musk broke through the $500 billion threshold based largely on a recent surge in the stock price of Tesla, of which he owns 12%, per Forbes. Tesla's share price has recently rebounded to bring the company within 10% of its all-time-high market capitalization. 

This happened despite Tesla's electric vehicles sales slowing down and Musk devoting much of his time to the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency in Washington, D.C.

According to the New York Post, Tesla's stock price has increased 35% since the start of September. 

Earlier this year, Musk commented that he sees Tesla's future value resting mostly on its AI-powered Optimus robot rather than EVs. 

In June 2024, Musk claimed during a shareholder call that Optimus robots could one day make Tesla worth $25 trillion, per CNBC. 

Musk's $500-billion fortune does not even take into account the record-shattering $1-trillion pay package that Tesla's board has offered him. Tesla shareholders are set to hold a vote on that package in November. The proposal has sparked controversy, garnering pushback from everyone from Bernie Sanders to Pope Leo XIV.  

"It's not about 'compensation,' but about me having enough influence over Tesla to ensure safety if we build millions of robots," Musk said in a September post to his social media platform, X, per Forbes. "If I can just get kicked out in the future by activist shareholder advisory firms who don't even own Tesla shares themselves, I'm not comfortable with that future."

Tesla has hardly been the only source of Musk's wealth. The mercurial CEO also holds highly valuable stakes in the rocket-building company SpaceX ($168 billion) and xAI Holdings ($60 billion). The latter includes the X social media platform as well as Musk's xAI artificial intelligence startup, according to Forbes.

Would you buy a $25,000 electric truck? Sign me up 👍 No way 👎 Depends how it drives 😤 Depends on the battery range 🔋 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

The Kobeissi Letter, a market commentator, noted on X that "Elon Musk is now worth more than all but 19 public companies in the world."

Over time, Musk continues to steer Tesla away from its focus on cleaner EVs and toward artificial intelligence and robots. Many have been left to wonder what impact the change will have on global efforts to curb planet-heating pollution and rising global temperatures.

The enormous data centers used to power AI models consume massive amounts of electricity, causing huge increases in electric bills for everyday consumers. They also contribute heavily to the amount of heat-trapping pollution entering the atmosphere. 

Whatever aspirations Musk might have once had to help the environment and reduce planet-overheating pollution appear to be gone. For example, SpaceX launches release enormous amounts of pollution while also leaving behind tons of waste for others to clean up. 

The good news for prospective EV buyers is that there are now many more companies and models of electric vehicles to choose from than when Tesla introduced its first model in 2008. 

Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.