After President-elect Donald Trump tapped Elon Musk to join him in his second administration, the tech billionaire’s businesses are booming, with one exception.
The world’s richest man, according to Forbes, will lead Trump’s proposed Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, alongside fellow billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy. The pair made their fortunes in the private sector over the last several decades and played big roles in the former president’s 2024 reelection campaign. This year, Musk fundraised for and promoted Trump while overseeing a constellation of six companies.
Most have soared in value since Trump’s victory. As of Nov. 18, he had an estimated net worth of $318 billion. Here is a look at every business Musk currently owns:
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Tesla
In 2004, Musk began investing in Tesla, Inc., an automotive and energy company, known for its pioneering electric vehicles. Today, Musk serves as CEO of the car and battery storage manufacturer.
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Tesla does significant business with the U.S. government, securing $41.9 million in federal contracts over the last 16 years.
With Musk expected to wield influence in Washington that could benefit the business, Tesla’s market value jumped following Trump’s win. The Friday after the election, its market value closed above $1 trillion for the first time in more than two years.
SpaceX
Space Exploration Technologies Corp., better known as SpaceX, was founded in 2002 to revolutionize space technology. Musk serves as CEO of the business that designs, manufactures, and launches rockets and spacecrafts.
SpaceX also does business with the U.S. government. Since 2008, it has benefited from nearly $19.8 billion in federal contracts. Fiscal year 2024 was the largest on record for SpaceX, aided by at least $3.8 billion in government contracts.
The aerospace company plans to launch a tender offer in December that would value it at more than $250 billion, Reuters reported. That valuation is up from an estimated $210 billion in June.
Neuralink
Musk founded Neuralink Corp., a neurotechnology company, in 2016. Neuralink develops implantable brain-computer interfaces that help people with paralysis.
In August, Musk announced a second person had received a Neuralink cybernetic implant after Noland Arbaugh became the first human to have the procedure earlier this year.
The company’s valuation was estimated to be in the low billions and to have nearly doubled in the last year.
X
Musk purchased the social media platform Twitter and rebranded it to X in 2022. Musk used it to support Trump during his reelection campaign this year and promote DOGE last week.
Exploding Topics estimated the social media giant had about 600 million monthly users in October. As X became more political, users began fleeing to other apps. Bluesky, a social media alternative, saw a boom in new account creation after the election.
A September filing by Fidelity Investment’s Blue Chip Growth Fund implied X was valued at $9.4 billion — a steep decrease compared to the $44 billion Musk paid for Twitter in 2022.
xAI
In 2023, Musk founded xAI, an artificial intelligence company known for its Grok chatbot accessible to X users.
The start-up recently attracted up to $6 billion in investments implying a valuation between $45 and $50 billion, according to reporting by CNBC and the Financial Times.
The Boring Company
Musk founded The Boring Company in 2016 with the idea that cities could have networks of underground tunnels allowing motorists to zip between destinations with little time spent on the streets.
To help make that vision come to life, The Boring Company works to perfect and construct transportation, utility, and freight tunnels. As of October 2023, the business had an estimated valuation of more than $7 billion, Reuters reported.
Reach Rachel Barber at [email protected] and follow her on X @rachelbarber_
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