Elon Musk is valued more than oil company Exxon Mobil

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Elon Musk’s surging net worth now makes him more valuable than Exxon Mobil Corp, according to a media report. Musk’s net worth increased to $288.6 billion on Monday, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. This was following a spurt in Tesla Inc.’s stock price after Hertz Global Holdings Inc. ordered 100,000 cars, resulting in a $36.2 billion gain, says a report in the Business Standard.

Exxon Mobil Corp, the oil company, is an old-economy bellwether, while Tesla is the electric carmaker that joined Apple Inc, Amazon.com Inc, Microsoft Corp and Alphabet Inc to be a part of the exclusive club of trillion-dollar corporations.

Exxon Mobil has not been a laggard on bourses this year. Though Musk overtook it in early 2021, Exxon has been on a tear since then as oil and natural gas prices advanced. “Still, that fossil-fuel rally, should it continue, may help spur even more sales of electric vehicles,” the report said.

Elon Musk

According to another report that is based on Tesla’s latest filing, its stock rose as much as 14.9% to $1,045.02, making it the world’s most valuable automaker. Tesla shares closed at $1,024.86, up 12.7% Monday.

In a response to Ross Gerber’s query, co-founder of the investment firm Gerber Kawasaki and a Tesla shareholder, Musk expressed amazement at the speed of the surge.

Most automakers aren’t proud of their sales to rental car businesses, which are frequently made at a discount to clear out slow-selling models. However, Hertz’s decision to acquire 100,000 Tesla vehicles by the end of 2022 demonstrated to Tesla and its investors that electric vehicles are no longer a niche product and would soon dominate the mainstream automotive market.

Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, has set a goal of increasing annual sales by 50% on average, eventually reaching 20 million vehicles per year. This would be more than double the current sales leaders Volkswagen AG and Toyota Motor Corp.