Elon Musk may become world’s first trillionaire as SpaceX eyes Mars

American billionaire, Elon Musk, could become the world’s first trillionaire, and it’s all thanks to his spaceship company, SpaceX, which is the world’s second-biggest privately owned company.

Musk owns both Tesla, a technology-backed Electric Vehicle, as well as SpaceX, however, the former has been largely the source of his wealth, which is worth $242 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

But analysts think SpaceX will be the trump card that will skyrocket Musk into the trillionaire club, tipping him as the first businessperson expected to achieve the feat.

Morgan Stanley analyst, Adam Jones, said, “More than one client has told us that if Elon Musk were to become the first trillionaire… it won’t be because of Tesla.”

Jones added, “Others have said SpaceX may eventually be the most highly valued company in the world — in any industry,” The Guardian reported on Friday.

While explaining the impact SpaceX will have on Musk, the analyst compared the space company with Google’s influence on internet, “Others have said SpaceX may eventually be the most highly valued company in the world — in any industry.”

In the last nine months, valuation of SpaceX, which Musk has 48 percent in, increased to $100.3 billion, up from $74 billion. This market value is expected to rise further as the space company aims to achieve Mars transportation.

On Thursday night, test continued on Musk’s space aim, as Raptor vacuum engine integrated onto a Starship prototype was fired. The 165-foot-tall SN20 Starship prototype has two Raptor engines; standard engine and vacuum.

READ ALSO: Elon Musk crashes Bitcoin, Ethereum prices with breakup tweet

The former is designed to lift off from Earth, while the latter is optimized to operate in space. By 2026, SpaceX, through its spaceflight, plans to land humans on Mars by 2026, five years from now – a vision that started since 2002.

Success of Tesla and SpaceX increased Musk’s wealth by $72 billion this year, to be valued $242 billion. Just last year January, Musk was ranked 35th richest person, before gaining $100.3 billion to become the world’s second-richest person in November, but now tops the list.

The closest billionaires to Musk are Jeff Bezos with estimated net worth of $197 billion, Bernard Arnault with $163 billion, Bill Gates has $133 billion, while Mark Zuckberg is estimated to be worth $127 billion.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now