Upon SpaceX acquisition of xAi, Elon Musk crossed a wealth threshold no one has ever reached. His net worth moved beyond $800 billion in a single corporate transaction.
SpaceX formally absorbed his AI company, lifting the combined valuation to about $1.25 trillion. Forbes estimates that the deal alone added roughly $84 billion to his fortune.
The ownership math clarifies why the jump was so large. Before the deal, Musk held about 42% of SpaceX, valued near $336 billion, and roughly 49% of xAI, valued around $122 billion. Afterward, Forbes calculates that he owns approximately 43% of the merged company worth about $542 billion, making SpaceX his most valuable asset by a wide margin.
Beyond SpaceX, Tesla still anchors a major share of his wealth. Musk controls about 12% of Tesla stock worth roughly $178 billion, plus around $124 billion in stock options.
Those figures do not include the record-breaking pay package approved by Tesla shareholders, which could eventually deliver up to $1 trillion in additional shares if the company hits long-term “Mars shot” performance milestones.
This acquisition also sits within a broader reshaping of Musk’s businesses. Last year, he combined xAI with his social platform X, valuing xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion at the time. That earlier move already tightened the link between his AI and social-media assets before both were ultimately folded into SpaceX.
Private-market momentum has accelerated each milestone. SpaceX’s valuation climbed from $400 billion in August to $800 billion by December, helping Musk reach $500 billion in October and $600 billion in mid-December.
Days later, the Delaware Supreme Court reinstated his Tesla stock options, pushing him past $700 billion. The latest SpaceX–xAI deal then carried him to $800 billion.
Forbes’s calculation also highlights how concentrated this wealth has become. A single stake—his share of SpaceX—now dwarfs his holdings in Tesla, X, and other ventures.
As SpaceX prepares for a possible public listing, these paper valuations will soon face far more public scrutiny.
