Key takeaways
- Elon Musk’s net worth peaked at $486 billion in December 2024, but by March 2025, his fortune had decreased to approximately $330 billion.
- The market capitalization of Tesla’s stock fell from about $1.5 trillion in December 2024 to between $700 billion and $880 billion in March 2025.
- SpaceX’s valuation reached $350 billion by December 2024. Musk’s 42% stake in SpaceX became his most valuable asset, surpassing his holdings in Tesla.
- Musk’s private crypto investments, including Bitcoin, Ether and Dogecoin, are estimated between $500 million and $1 billion.
Understanding the net worth of any billionaire can be tricky — especially when it comes to someone like Elon Musk, the richest person on the planet. Why? Because it’s not just about how much cash he has in the bank; his wealth is tied up in assets such as stocks, company ownership and other investments.
If you’ve been wondering just how that all adds up, here’s the scoop: As of March 31, 2025, Musk’s fortune exceeds $300 billion, making him the richest person on the planet.
Curious about how that’s possible?
This article breaks down his net worth, detailing exactly where all that wealth comes from. You’ll learn how his stakes in SpaceX, Tesla, cryptocurrencies and other ventures contribute to his overall fortune.
Ready for some numbers?
Here is an overview of Musk’s net worth by major asset class with estimated values as of late Q1 (January–March) 2025:
Beyond the reported assets in the above table, Musk’s wealth may also include cash reserves from Tesla stock sales, real estate and personal assets, and undisclosed investments in startups, cryptocurrencies, and private equity.
Musk’s net worth in 2025: Rise, decline and political impact
Musk’s wealth in 2025 has fluctuated through striking highs and lows, a reflection of his innovative entrepreneurial endeavors and the backlash triggered by political controversies he has been part of lately.
In December 2024, his fortune ascended to $486 billion, lifted by SpaceX’s whopping success in private space exploration. Yet, by the middle of February 2025, Musk’s wealth fell below $400 billion for the first time in 2025. Within two months of reaching the peak of $486 billion, Tesla stock dove by 27%, and he lost nearly $90 billion of his wealth. On March 5, 2025, Forbes put Musk’s wealth at $351.6 billion, which is a fall of $135 billion from his peak, shaken by a steep fall in Tesla’s stock and rising political unrest.
Peak and decline: Tesla’s journey
Now, let’s dive deeper into how exactly Tesla affected Musk’s wealth.
Tesla’s stock once soared, fueled by eager demand for electric vehicles (EVs) and breakthroughs in self-driving technology. But challenges emerged in early 2025. Investors became skeptical as regulators questioned the safety of Tesla’s autonomous software, while new rivals emerged in the electric car market. Musk’s political leanings also impacted many of his fans, who were also loyal customers of Tesla.
Crypto and political echoes
Musk’s views regarding cryptocurrencies, especially Dogecoin (DOGE), sent DOGE prices up several times, though this has added little to his overall riches. Musk’s bold political views and position as the senior adviser to US President Donald Trump and the de facto head of the Department of Government Efficiency turned away some of Tesla’s loyal buyers.
Fewer sales followed, pulling Tesla’s stock and Musk’s wealth downward. This political divide stirred unrest in the stock market, deepening Musk’s financial setbacks. However, President Trump has reportedly told his Cabinet members that Musk might step back soon.
A broad fortune: Musk’s other ventures
Despite these challenges, Musk’s wealth is largely driven by several ambitious ventures. Tesla accounts for about 40% of his fortune, while SpaceX represents 42%. Other investments, including Neuralink, The Boring Company (TBC) and xAI, make up roughly 10%–20% of his assets. While his DOGE-related moves impact the markets, cryptocurrencies constitute just a small fraction of his overall wealth.
Did you know? The electric vehicle (EV) company Tesla draws its name from Nikola Tesla, the Serbian-American inventor, and its initial model, the Roadster, marked a significant advancement in EV technology by utilizing lithium-ion batteries.
Musk’s Tesla holdings
Tesla’s stock remains a significant component of Musk’s vast wealth. Here is a brief description of Musk’s holdings as of March 31, 2025:
Ownership stake and stock options
According to a preliminary proxy statement filed in April 2024, Musk owned approximately 715 million Tesla shares as of March 31, 2024, representing around 20.5% of the company’s outstanding shares. Of those, he had pledged 238.4 million shares, which was nearly one-third of his total holdings.
Tesla endured a turbulent 2024, with net profits plummeting by 71% and vehicle sales revenue dropping by more than $5 billion. Since the beginning of 2025, Tesla’s stock has experienced considerable ups and downs.
Tesla’s market value and Musk’s stake worth
Tesla’s market capitalization reached over $1.5 trillion following the US election but has since fallen by approximately $700 billion. This volatility directly impacted Musk’s net worth.
With sales of just 1.8 million units, Tesla’s $845-billion valuation on March 7, 2025, surpassed the combined market value of the next nine biggest car manufacturers, which together sold around 44 million cars.
As per Bloomberg estimates, at the lower end of recent prices, Musk’s Tesla stake was worth around $92.6 billion. Earlier in the year, when stock prices were higher, the value of Musk’s shareholding jumped above $150 billion.
Tesla’s market slump and 2025 expectations
Tesla’s stock has fallen sharply since mid-December 2024, erasing about $800 billion in market value. Slowing sales growth and declining deliveries in key markets have shaken investor confidence. In early 2025, Tesla faced weakening demand in Europe and China, its two largest markets outside the US, despite price cuts and incentives.
As of March 11, 2025, Tesla’s stock had plummeted by almost 50% over the past three months. Tesla’s market capitalization has shrunk by 45% since reaching a record $1.5 trillion on Dec. 17, 2024.
Investors worry that Musk’s political involvement and role in the government may be distracting him from Tesla and alienating the company’s traditionally eco-conscious, politically liberal customer base.
Musk’s SpaceX holdings
Musk’s financial portfolio is tied to the success of his ventures, particularly SpaceX. Here is an insight into SpaceX’s valuation and Musk’s holdings in the company:
SpaceX valuation and Musk’s stake
Musk owns around 40% of SpaceX, the private space exploration company he founded in 2002. Even though SpaceX is a private company (meaning its stock isn’t traded on the public market), investors have placed a very high value on it. In late 2024, a private share sale valued SpaceX at about $350 billion.
Musk’s stake in SpaceX is worth around $147 billion. Bloomberg, however, applies an illiquidity discount of about 5% for private holdings, valuing his SpaceX stake at roughly $136 billion as of March 19, 2025. Notably, SpaceX is now Musk’s most valuable asset, overtaking Tesla in terms of dollar value.
SpaceX’s revenue streams and business fundamentals
SpaceX’s business fundamentals underpin its massive valuation. The company’s 2024 revenue was an estimated $13.1 billion, nearly a 50% jump from the previous year. About $8.2 billion of this revenue came from its Starlink satellite internet division, now serving over 4 million subscribers worldwide.
The remainder comes from rocket launch services and other projects, including nearly $4.2 billion in launch revenue. SpaceX also holds nearly $20 billion in US government contracts for NASA missions and military launches.
Did you know? NASA is working with SpaceX to use their Starship to land astronauts on the Moon’s South Pole during the Artemis III mission. While the initial target of the project was 2024, it has been delayed to no earlier than 2027.
Why Musk’s SpaceX wealth isn’t as liquid as it seems
SpaceX is all set to be a significant source of Musk’s wealth in the near future. The company’s valuation will likely stay robust in 2025, supported by Starlink’s rapid growth and high-profile projects like NASA’s lunar missions.
However, it is important to note that Musk borrowed money using his SpaceX and Tesla stock as collateral. Over half of his shares are pledged to banks in exchange for personal loans. Lenders typically allow borrowing of only ~25% of the pledged stock’s value. So, while Musk’s SpaceX stake is valuable, much of it can’t be readily sold and is used to secure future debt. This is why Musk often calls himself cash poor, as much of his wealth is tied up in stocks.
Musk’s cryptocurrency holdings
Wondering how crypto fits into the picture? Let’s find out
While Tesla and SpaceX dominate Musk’s financial landscape, cryptocurrencies represent a smaller yet significant part of his portfolio.
Musk’s personal crypto holdings
Musk’s crypto portfolio includes Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and DOGE. But he hasn’t disclosed the amounts, but there are speculations that these holdings are a tiny fraction of his wealth.
In Musk’s own words, he holds much more Bitcoin than ETH or DOGE. He has stated, “I might pump, but I don’t dump,” indicating that he hasn’t sold off his personal crypto even when hyping it.
Tesla and SpaceX’s cryptocurrency investments
Musk’s companies have also invested in crypto. In early 2021, Tesla made headlines by buying $1.5 billion worth of BTC for its corporate treasury.
Tesla later sold about 75% of its BTC in 2022, but it continues to hold 11,509 BTC (worth roughly $1 billion as of early 2025) on its balance sheet.
SpaceX also invested in Bitcoin by writing down approximately $373 million on its Bitcoin holdings in 2021–2022 and even sold some at one point. The exact size of SpaceX’s crypto stash isn’t public, but it is expected to be modest relative to its overall business.
Musk’s influence on the crypto market
Musk’s social media posts and public statements continue influencing crypto markets, especially Dogecoin. As a meme-based cryptocurrency that Musk jokingly champions, DOGE often jumps in price whenever Musk mentions it. Dogecoin’s strong position among top memecoins is credited to Musk’s frequent X posts and endorsements.
In 2025, though, crypto hasn’t been a central theme in Musk’s public discourse, especially as he juggles political and business responsibilities.
Did you know? In February 2021, Tesla not only purchased $1.5 billion of BTC but also announced plans to allow customers to buy their vehicles using BTC.
Musk’s other assets and ventures
But Tesla and SpaceX aren’t Musk’s only ventures. Curious about the rest?
Beyond Tesla and SpaceX, Musk has several other business interests that add significant value to his net worth. Here is a breakdown of Musk’s other key assets and ventures as of early 2025 and how they contribute to his overall wealth:
xAI
Musk founded xAI in 2023 with the objective of developing AI that is capable of advanced mathematical reasoning. In November 2023, xAI introduced Grok, an AI chatbot integrated with X. In February 2025, the company unveiled its latest iteration, Grok 3.
In a short time, xAI emerged as a competitor to Sam Altman’s OpenAI, got several investors, and attained a valuation of around $50 billion.
Musk is the majority owner of xAI with an estimated ~54% stake, which is valued at roughly $22.6 billion, according to Bloomberg. XAI is now Musk’s third-largest holding after SpaceX and Tesla. On March 8, 2025, xAI acquired X (formerly Twitter) in an all-stock deal valued at $33 billion.
In Musk’s own words, the move unlocked “immense potential by blending xAI’s advanced AI capability and expertise with X’s massive reach.” By integrating xAI with X, Musk looked to build a platform that competed with the likes of Google, Meta and OpenAI, offering real-time interaction, content and AI-driven experiences.
X
Musk famously bought Twitter for $44 billion in October 2022 and renamed it X. Since then, X’s valuation has fallen dramatically due to advertiser losses and other challenges. Musk brought in co-investors, but he still owns approximately 74%–79% of X’s equity.
The remaining shares are held by firms such as Prince Alwaleed’s Kingdom Holding, Fidelity and others. As of late 2024, Fidelity had marked down the value of X to about $9.4 billion, a nearly 80% drop from the purchase price.
That implies Musk’s stake in X is worth roughly $7 billion or less, which is a huge drop from $44 billion. Other estimates have pegged X’s value in the $12 billion–$14 billion range, depending on user growth and revenue, which would put Musk’s share around $10 billion–$12 billion. In early 2025, Musk merged X into xAI, which effectively gained a valuation for X of $33 billion, with $12 billion of debt in that transaction.
The Boring Company (TBC)
This is Musk’s tunnel construction and infrastructure venture. TBC was valued at $5.7 billion as of a funding round in April 2022. Musk owns most of TBC, around 80%–90% of the equity. That puts Musk’s stake in TBC at roughly $5 billion in value.
While TBC is smaller than Musk’s other ventures, it could potentially transform tunneling or traffic solutions. Musk has occasionally sold small amounts of TBC equity to outside investors, but he remains firmly in control of the company.
Neuralink
Neuralink is Musk’s brain-computer interface startup, co-founded in 2016. The goal of Neuralink is to implant chips in human brains to treat neurological conditions and perhaps achieve even human-AI symbiosis one day. Neuralink was valued at around $5 billion in mid-2023 based on privately traded stock transactions. After it secured approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for its first human trials, there were reports that investors sought to buy shares at higher valuations.
As a co-founder and the largest shareholder in Neuralink, Musk’s stake is estimated to be approximately $5 billion. As the company raises more funds, it may evolve.
Neuralink’s value is quite speculative, as it depends on technological milestones that are still a few years away. If Neuralink achieves a valuation comparable to other biotech or AI companies, which are worth tens of billions, Musk’s share would increase significantly.
Cash and other investments
Musk has relatively few liquid assets. At times, he has described himself as cash-poor, meaning almost all his net worth is tied to his companies’ equity.
Musk had to borrow money or sell stock to fund big acquisitions like X. His ventures have been funded by loans backed by his stock rather than cash. For example, in 2022, Musk took out a $1-billion loan from SpaceX (borrowing from his own company) rather than liquidating shares.
He also repeatedly sold Tesla shares, worth over $40 billion since 2021, to raise funds when needed.
As learned, Musk’s wealth lies in stocks in his own companies, not a broad portfolio of investment in other companies or lots of cash.
Companies that Musk no longer owns
As of March 31, 2025, a few chapters in Musk’s business journey have officially closed. The following companies are likely no longer owned by Musk:
- Zip2: Founded by Musk in 1995 as an online business directory with mapping features, Zip2 was sold to Compaq in 1999 for $307 million. This early venture, co-created with his brother Kimbal, provided Musk with significant capital to pursue future projects, marking the end of his ownership as it integrated into Compaq’s operations.
- PayPal: Emerging from Musk’s X.com, founded in 1999, PayPal became a leading online payment platform after merging with Confinity. PayPal was acquired by eBay in 2002 for $1.5 billion. Musk, a major shareholder at the time, cashed out after the sale, earning over $175 million and giving up his stake as PayPal became part of eBay.
- SolarCity: Co-founded by Musk in 2006 to advance solar energy solutions, SolarCity was a key player in renewables until Tesla acquired it in 2016 for $2 billion. As chairman and a major stakeholder, Musk oversaw its integration into Tesla, meaning it’s no longer a separate entity he owns; it’s now part of Tesla’s broader energy strategy.
- OpenAI: Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 as a nonprofit AI research group, contributing significant funds and serving on its board. He left in 2018–2019 due to conflicts with Tesla’s AI goals, and his lack of ownership was underscored by a rejected $97.4-billion bid to regain control in February 2025, confirming he no longer holds a stake as of March 2025.
Did you know? Elon Musk originally launched X.com in 1999 as an online financial services company, which later became PayPal after merging with Confinity. This early X.com has no relation to the current X (formerly Twitter) — Musk revived the name when he rebranded Twitter in 2023.
The shifting sands of Musk’s fortune
As you can see, Musk’s wealth is anything but static — it’s a constantly shifting outcome of his diverse investments across several cutting-edge tech sectors. Tesla had long been a key driver of his fortune, though its recent stock volatility has taken a noticeable toll on his net worth.
His significant ownership in SpaceX has also played a big role, especially as the company’s valuation continues to soar.
And in the cryptocurrency arena? Musk’s personal stakes in BTC, ETH and DOGE — alongside Tesla’s Bitcoin holdings — clearly reflect his ongoing interest in digital assets.
Put it all together, and it’s a fascinating mix of innovation, risk and strategy that shows just how deeply Musk is shaping the future of tech and finance.