On the 7th of January, 2021 it was announced that Telsa and SpaceX entrepreneur, Elon Musk had overtaken Jeff Bezos to become the richest man in the World.
Elon Musk’s net worth had crossed $185bn following an increase in the share price of the electric car company causing him to overtake Amazon’s CEO, Jeff Bezos whose net-worth stood at $175bn
While there has been a lot of buzz on the internet as to how Elon Musk is now the richest man in the world, we would highlight the major reasons that pushed an increase in the share price of the electric car company, Telsa and ultimately pushing Elon Musk to become the richest man in the World.
- Increase in acceptability of Renewable energy: The World is moving away from fossil fuels and tilting towards clean and renewable energy and with a Telsa car, this transition is made seamless. The European Union leaders have agreed that the bloc must be climate neutral by 2050, which if implemented fully would end it’s demand for unabated fossil fuels. The EU already has in place a drafted ambition for 30 million electric cars by 2030 as part of a broad-reaching strategy to reduce carbon emissions and this puts Telsa at an advantageous position as the electric cars are designed to move the world towards a zero emission future.
- US Democratic Win: The Republicans are known for their conservative nature and as such are not keen on supporting an electric car agenda. While Trump had denied claims of being against alternative energy, he has critized publicly the wide adaptation of electric cars in California. The Joe Biden win in the elections of 2020 definitely set Telsa on the right path. Biden is known for his pro electric vehicle stance and has outlined plans to become a market leader in electric vehicles, with a target of 40% of its US sales to be electrified by 2025. Another democratic leader, Gavin Newsom who is the Governor of California has recently publicly announced plans to phase out the sale of new cars that rely on fossil fuels by 2035.
- Release of the Model 3 Telsa: The rise in Telsa’s market value was largely due to the release of its top selling Model 3. The model 3 which was Telsa’s successful attempt to tap into the mainstream segment went on to become the World’s best selling all- electric vehicle model worldwide in 2019.
As of March 2020, the Telsa Model 3 is the World’s best selling electric car in history with more than 500,000 units delivered and was the world’s top selling plug in electric car in 2018 and 2019.
The model 3 was designed by Musk to be a family car, a silent and vibration free daily driver. The seats can even fold down to give as much as 66 inches of boot space.
The Telsa Model 3 can reach a top speed of 140MPH and do 0-60 mph in just 5.6 seconds. The base model offers 215 miles of range on a single charge, and is designed to attain the highest safety ratings in every category.
It has a great ride quality and has been described by many as the best electric car money can buy.
