Elon Musk becomes $25 billion richer after Hertz electric car deal with Tesla
A new announcement has made tech entrepreneur Elon Musk the richest person in the history of the world and sent Tesla stock soaring.
As if he wasn’t already rich enough, Tesla CEO Elon Musk just made another $25 billion in a sweet deal with a car company.
He was already the richest person alive, surpassing Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in September, but he hasn’t stopped there.
Tesla has now joined the trillionaire club with the likes of Facebook, Google, Apple and Microsoft.
On Monday local time, Hertz announced it was going to buy 100,000 Tesla Model 3 sedans to add to its rental car repertoire, causing Tesla’s share price to skyrocket.
Tesla stocks jumped by US$25.6 billion (A$34.1 billion), a rise of 13 per cent, its biggest day ever.
The stocks were priced at $1,024.86 by market close and the company’s market capitalisation exceeded $1 trillion.
Considering Mr Musk has around a 20 per cent stake of the company, he made a lot of money — more than anyone else ever has, in fact.
Mr Musk’s net worth is now at a staggering US$255.2 billion (A$340 billion), according to Forbes.
It’s “the richest he’s ever been, and likely the richest person to ever walk the planet. He’s richer than any billionaire Forbes has ever tracked,” the publication said.
Mr Bezos, in second place on the rich list, is considerably behind, with a US$193.2 billion fortune.
Musk is worth more than the combined total of Google co-founder Larry Page, sixth on the rich list with a net worth of US$118.2 billion and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, ranked seventh, at US$117 billion.
Two years ago, Mr Musk’s net worthwas US$19.9 billion and he’s now valued at more than 10 times that.
The first load of Tesla’s Model 3 sedans will be available to rent from Hertz in major US and European markets from early November, the company said in a statement.
“Electric vehicles are now mainstream, and we’ve only just begun to see rising global demand and interest,” said Hertz CEO Mark Fields.
“The new Hertz is going to lead the way as a mobility company, starting with the largest EV rental fleet in North America and a commitment to grow our EV fleet and provide the best rental and recharging experience for leisure and business customers around the world.”
Wild $T1mes!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 25, 2021
GOAT’s recognize GOAT’s. Introducing our all new EV fleet (@TomBrady not included) #Hertz#LetsGopic.twitter.com/TElSE2PDKb
— Hertz (@Hertz) October 25, 2021
The 100,000 car order consists of about 10 per cent of what Tesla can make in a year, causing speculation that other rental car companies have been boxed out.
Global electric vehicle sales have skyrocketed 200 per cent in the last year, Hertz said.
That’s certainly the case for Tesla, with its shares climbing 80 per cent in the last five months since May.
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