Thanks to Trump's victory

Elon Musk is 12 billion euros richer after election night

Elon Musk has been busy campaigning for Donald Trump - and can look forward to substantial profits.

(Bild: AFP)

Elon Musk (53), currently the wealthiest man in the world, has pumped millions of dollars into Donald Trump's election campaign in recent months. A move that may have brought Trump victory, but has brought Musk massive profits. His Tesla shares shot up by 15 percent on election night.

The prospect of a Trump victory caused Tesla shares to rise by 15 percent in over-the-counter trading. On Wednesday morning, the share price stood at 261.65 euros (as of 8:30 a.m.), which increased Tesla's enterprise value by around 93 billion euros to 715.4 billion euros.

Musk, who owns around 13 percent of Tesla shares, has thus achieved an increase of around twelve billion euros overnight, reports "Bild". 

Musk's other companies - including SpaceX, The Boring Company and the social media platform X - are not listed on the stock exchange. Their current value is therefore more difficult to determine. 

"The future will be fantastic"
Trump praised Musk in his victory speech. Musk had spent election night at his side. The tech billionaire had previously cast his vote: "I just voted in South Texas, where Starbase is located, and now I'm heading to Florida to Mar-a-Lago to be with President Trump and JD and a bunch of other cool people," he wrote on X.

There he also expressed his (pre-)joy at winning the election with the words "The future will be fantastic". He also had the Like button on the platform adjusted to show his continued support for Trump (see post above).

Fake News, Millionentombola

Warum Musk für Trump in den Kampf zog

As an ardent supporter, Musk diligently campaigned for Trump and pumped 75 million dollars - other media speak of 119 million dollars - into his election campaign. He also diligently supported him with contributions on X.

Donald Trump - now confirmed as the 47th President of the USA - praised Elon Musk in his victory speech. Not without good reason, as he pumped millions of dollars into his election campaign.

(Bild: AFP)

(Bild: AFP)

(Bild: AFP/Getty Images North America/Kevin Dietsch)

(Bild: AP ( via APA) Austria Presse Agentur/AP/Evan Vucci)

(Bild: AFP/Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

(Bild: AFP/AFP or licensors)

(Bild: Getty Images/Anna Moneymaker)

(Bild: AP ( via APA) Austria Presse Agentur/Alex Brandon)

Musk spread fake news
According to a report by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), he is said to have spread disinformation via his platform. The non-profit organization found 87 posts by Musk on the US election that contained false or misleading information, according to fact-checkers.

These posts, which achieved a total of two billion views, spread, among other things, the often refuted claim that the Democrats would bring millions of illegal immigrants into the country to win their votes, reports Der Spiegel. The 53-year-old also initiated a million-dollar raffle, for which he was cited in court.

The reasons for the tech millionaire's involvement: Musk supported Trump out of concern that the Democrats could curtail freedom of speech, which is not only a personal concern for Musk, but also - according to his statements - the basis of business for his platform X.

He also criticized the Democrats' "wokeness" (commitment against racist, sexist and social discrimination in particular) - an attitude he shares with Trump.

Donald Trump's victory confirmed
An effort that paid off. Trump was declared the winner of the US election shortly before 12 noon (CET). The former president (2017-21), who was not re-elected in 2020 and lost out to incumbent Joe Biden of the Democrats, had gathered the necessary number of voters for a comeback victory.