Tesla CEO Elon Musk pips Bill Gates to become world's second richest person

New Delhi: Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has overtaken Bill Gates to become world's second richest person on Monday, as per a Bloomberg report.

Musk's net worth soared $7.2 billion to $127.9 billion, led by surge in Tesla's share price. The 49-year-old billionaire has added $100.3 billion to his net worth this year, the most of anyone on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a daily ranking of the world's wealthiest 500 individuals.

It may be recalled that last week, the stock of electric car-maker Tesla soared more than 13 per cent after S&P Global said that shares of the Elon Musk-owned company will be added to the S&P 500, a broad measure of the most prominent stocks listed in the US.

Tesla will officially join the benchmark index prior to trading on December 21, the S&P Dow Jones Indices. It is a milestone for Tesla that will expand its investor base and put the electric automaker in the same league as Apple, Berkshire Hathaway and Microsoft.

The inclusion on the benchmark follows Tesla's decision in August to split its shares 5 for 1. The move will help smaller investors afford Tesla stock. In October, Tesla announced it registered its fifth straight profitable quarter, raking $331 million in profit in its third quarter, delivering 139,300 vehicles.

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The electric car-maker generated $8.7 billion in revenue. The company beat the previous record of 112,000 vehicle deliveries in the fourth quarter last year. Tesla's cash balance increased to $14.5 billion, which includes free cash flows of $1.4 billion, its highest yet.

With IANS Inputs