By Rajwa Quasim
Elon Musk has reclaimed his position as the world’s richest person after his fortune crossed the $1 trillion mark, driven by sharp gains in SpaceX and Tesla shares.
Musk’s fortune increased by $30.6 billion on Monday from the previous trading session. By the end of the day, another wealth tracker estimated his fortune at about $1.04 trillion. Amazon founder Jeff
Bezos remained in second place, with an estimated fortune of about $371.5 billion.
Earlier in June, Musk became the world’s first trillionaire following SpaceX’s record-breaking stock market debut. The company’s shares began trading at $135 each. The milestone was short-lived, however, as SpaceX and Tesla shares declined, pulling Musk’s fortune back below $1 trillion.
The latest recovery has been driven largely by a surge in SpaceX’s share price. SpaceX shares gained more than 7% on Monday, closing at $171.09, about 24% above their June IPO price. Tesla shares also gained about 1% on Monday.
READ: Musk to rename SpaceXAI as SpaceXSI after Trump’s ‘super intelligence’ push (October 5, 2026)
Recent developments, including better-than-expected third-quarter deliveries from Tesla last week and renewed investor optimism surrounding Musk’s space and artificial intelligence businesses, have strengthened confidence in his companies. Morgan Stanley analysts recently described SpaceX shares as undervalued and maintained a $300 price target. SpaceX also recently launched its Starship rocket into orbit successfully.
Musk has also remained in the spotlight because of his close relationship with President Donald Trump. He was among several major technology executives who attended Trump’s recent White House meeting, where Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to replace the term “artificial intelligence” with “superintelligence” in official communications.
Following the order, Musk said SpaceX’s artificial intelligence subsidiary, SpaceXAI, would be renamed SpaceXSI. Musk endorsed the terminology change, saying “SI” was a better term. The move has drawn criticism, with some arguing that the rebranding appears to have more political than technological significance.
Gizmodo questioned the usefulness of the terminology change, noting that “superintelligence” generally refers to hypothetical AI systems capable of exceeding human intelligence rather than AI technology as a whole.
READ: OpenAI cuts SpaceX’s Cursor access over Elon Musk contract concerns (August 29, 2026)
The timing has added another layer to Musk’s long-standing relationship with Trump. Musk joined Trump on campaign rallies during his bid for a second term and later led the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
Musk has also recently faced renewed public attention over his personal relationships. Shivon Zilis, a Neuralink employee and the mother of four of Musk’s children, said last week that their relationship had ended. Media reports described the breakup as contentious and drew comparisons between the circumstances and a workplace termination.
“It’s hard to go from in love to let go in a week with no warning, but that’s just how it is sometimes,” Zilis said in a post on X.
The breakup has prompted renewed scrutiny of Musk’s treatment of women and comes ahead of an upcoming documentary about the billionaire that also examines his relationships with former partners.