Musk gesturing at the China-made Model 3 delivery ceremony at the company's Gigafactory in Shanghai on Jan 7. — Bloomberg
SAN FRANCISCO: Elon Musk’s net worth soared past Warren Buffett on Friday as the chief executive officer of Tesla Inc became the seventh richest person in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Musk’s fortune rose by US$6.07 billion (RM25.9bil) on Friday, Bloomberg News said, following a 10.8% jump in the electric carmaker’s stock.
Buffett’s net worth dropped earlier this week when he donated US$2.9 billion (RM12.4bil) in Berkshire Hathaway stock to charity, the report added.
Tesla’s shares have surged 500% over the past year as the company increased sales of its Model 3 sedan.
The blistering rally also puts Musk in reach of a payday potentially worth US$1.8 billion (RM7.7bil), his second jackpot from the electric car maker in about two months.
The stock is up about 38% since the close on July 1, a day before the company reported its quarterly delivery numbers.
Tesla’s solid delivery numbers heightened expectations of a profitable second quarter, which would mark the first time in its history that it would report four consecutive quarters of profit.
In a related development, the Electrek news website reported that Tesla has reduced the price of its sports utility vehicle Model Y by US$3,000 (RM12,798).
Tesla's mid-sized SUV, which is sold as a Long Range or Performance version - is now priced at US$49,990 (RM213,257), according to the carmaker's website.
The Performance version will be updated with a new configuration, the report added.
The Model Y was unveiled on March 14 last year, promising a much-awaited crossover that will face competition from European carmakers rolling out their own electric rivals.
In April, Tesla had said the Model Y was already profitable, marking the first time in the company’s history that one of its new vehicles turned a profit in its first quarter.
Tesla delivered 90,650 vehicles during the second quarter, above estimates for 74,130 vehicles, according to Refinitiv data. It delivered 80,050 units of its new Model Y SUV and Model 3 for the quarter.
Reporting by Aishwarya Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Paul Simao
