It’s been an eventful few days for Elon Musk.
The billionaire tested positive for Covid-19, his rocket company launched four astronauts into space, and on Monday his electric carmaker Tesla Inc. was named for inclusion in the S&P 500 Index.
The last bit of news also means Musk, 49, became the world’s third-richest person, leapfrogging Mark Zuckerberg.
Tesla surged as much as 15% on Monday in after hours trading. On Tuesday, the shares ended up 8.2%, pushing his fortune $7.6 billion higher to $109.7 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His wealth has jumped $82.2 billion this year, the biggest gain on the ranking of the world’s 500 richest people.
Tesla will enter the S&P 500 on Dec. 21 following months of speculation and one temporary setback, when the stock failed to make the cut during the index’s quarterly rebalancing in early September. Tesla would be the biggest new entrant in the group’s history.
On Saturday, Musk tweeted that he “most likely” had a moderate case of Covid-19 and has had symptoms of “a minor cold.” Sunday he tweeted he had no symptoms. That same day, four astronauts were launched to the International Space Station in a vehicle built by Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp.
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU