Elon Musk is the first individual to reach a net worth of $500 billion USD.

The staggering wealth of Elon Musk has hit new heights, with the Tesla CEO becoming the first person to be worth $US500 billion ($756 billion).

Musk hit the milestone after shares in Tesla surged nearly 4 per cent on the US sharemarket overnight, bumping up his personal wealth by $US9.3 billion, reports Forbes.

The electric vehicle maker’s share price has almost doubled since April when Musk said he would be spending more time running Tesla and stepping down as head of US President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Musk’s 12 per cent stake in Tesla is now worth $US191 billion.

But it would be worth much more if a 2018 stock options compensation package today worth $US133 billion had not been declared void by a US court judge in January 2024.

The value of those options have been discounted 50 per cent by Forbes, awaiting the result of a current court appeal by Musk.

Meanwhile, his fortune could be on track to hit $US1 trillion by 2033, on the back of the Tesla’s board-proposed record-breaking pay package proposed last month.

That would hand Musk additional 423.7 million additional shares of Tesla stock worth up to $US1 trillion.

But he would get those shares only if the value of Tesla stock increases significantly in coming years.

Musk’s half-a-trillion-dollar fortune has also been bolstered by the performance of his other companies.

His 42 per cent stake in SpaceX is worth $US168 billion, while his shares in xAI Holdings, the AI company founded by Musk, are valued at $US60 billion.