Elon Musk Adds $30 Billion to His Personal Worth as Tesla Exceeds Delivery Expectations

Tesla CEO Elon Musk's net worth once again saw a sudden rise as the carmaker's stock performed well in the markets on Monday, Bloomberg reported. Musk added over $30 billion to his tally, leaving a gap of over $100 billion between him and second-placed Jeff Bezos. 

As 2021 drew to a close, Tesla announced its production and delivery numbers for the year. While a surge in numbers was expected, Tesla went further than the expectations and delivered close to a million vehicles in the year. A whopping 308,600 deliveries were made in the last quarter alone. The hard work put in by the team was not only appreciated by the CEO but also by investors whose interest soared Tesla stock prices by 13.5 percent on the first day of trading in the New Year, Bloomberg reported. 

Musk, who now owns an 18 percent stake in the company added $33.8 billion to his personal worth in a single day, just shy of the $36 billion he added on a similar Monday in October. A Twitter poll announced by Musk soon after also triggered a downside in Tesla stock value that only changed direction a few days before Christmas, Bloomberg reported. 

Just before the year ended, Tesla also had to announce the largest recall in its own history, after it found out that frequent closing and opening of the trunk lid could damage a coaxial cable that connected the dashboard to the rear camera. This was soon followed by another issue propping up with its Model S vehicles in China where the front trunk lid could accidentally open while the vehicle was in motion severely hindering the driver's line of sight and increasing the risk of collision, InsideEVs reported. Tesla China is recalling just under 200,000 vehicles, while Tesla in the U.S. will recall over 500,000 vehicles. 

The stock market was clearly unperturbed by these recalls and continued its interest in the EV maker while fueling Musk's personal fortune. According to Bloomberg's Billionaires Index, Musk's net worth now stands at $304.2 billion while Jeff Bezos is a distant second at $196 billion. These calculations take into consideration multiple companies that both Bezos and Musk own. For a brief period last year, Musk's inflation-adjusted net worth made him the richest person in modern history, Bloomberg said in its report.