Elon Musk could become the world’s first ever trillionaire

The billionaire entrepreneur is already the world’s richest man. But one of his companies could see him become the world’s first ever trillionaire.

Elon Musk is already the world’s richest man, but now he could create an eye-watering new record as the first ever trillionaire.

With an estimated fortune of $241 billion, analysts from investment bank Morgan Stanley forecast he could reach trillionaire status. Surprisingly though, it won’t come from his electric car company Tesla.

Instead, it was predicted that his space exploration business SpaceX, which was founded in 2002, would be the money-maker.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifting off from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on April 23, 2021. Picture: Joel Kowsky/NASA/AFP

Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas said SpaceX was challenging any preconceived notion of what was possible in space.

“More than one client has told us if Elon Musk were to become the first trillionaire … it won’t be because of Tesla. Others have said SpaceX may eventually be the most highly valued company in the world – in any industry,” he said.

SpaceX could be worth an estimated $200 billion already, with its value rising even higher in the future as the use of space infrastructure, Earth observation and space exploration becomes increasingly used by different industries, Mr Jonas said.

“What SpaceX is doing on the shores of South Texas is challenging any preconceived notion of what was possible and the time frame possible, in terms of rockets, launch vehicles and supporting infrastructure,” he said.

Space X could launch Elon Musk’s wealth into trillionaire status. Picture: Starship | SN9 | High-Altitude Flight Test

Mr Jonas went so far as to compare SpaceX to the huge transformation Google brought to the internet as SpaceX looks to introduce its Starship reusable rockets, which could transport people and cargo to the moon and Mars, transforming the space industry.

“As one client put it, ‘Talking about space before Starship is like talking about the internet before Google,’” he said.

SpaceX sent the first all-amateur crew – Jared Isaacman, Sian Proctor, Hayley Arceneaux and Chris Sembroski – to orbit Earth for three days last month marking the most ambitious leap into space tourism.

Mr Musk owns 48 per cent of SpaceX which is the second biggest privately company behind TikTok’s company ByteDance.