Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and the richest man in the world, saw his fortune increase by about $20 billion after Donald Trump secured victory in the US presidential election.

About $13 billion of that increase came as Tesla’s stock price experienced a surge in early trading Wednesday morning, rising 12.7% to $283.24 as of 9:40 a.m. ET, compared to the previous day’s closing price of $251 ,44.

Musk owns more than 411 million shares of Tesla – about 13 percent of the company’s outstanding common stock – making him the largest individual shareholder.

Musk also has major stakes in social media platform X, formerly Twitter, and space technology company SpaceX. According to Forbes’ real-time billionaires list, Musk’s net worth was recently calculated at $285.2 billion.

Tesla’s stock surge added about $120 billion to its market value, pushing it above $900 billion for the first time since July 2023, according to Barron’s.

The rise in Tesla’s stock price coincided with Trump’s election victory, after The Associated Press named key swing states in his favor. Musk donated nearly $120 million to Trump’s campaign.

Newsweek contacted Tesla and Donald Trump via email for comment.

In his victory speech, Trump praised Musk, calling him “a new star” and “a super genius.” Trump highlighted Musk’s achievements with SpaceX and the impact of Starlink’s satellite communications service during Hurricane Helene.

“(Musk is) a character, he’s a special guy, he’s a super genius. We have to protect our geniuses – we don’t have that many,” Trump said during his speech.

Trump’s victory is expected to bring significant changes to the electric vehicle (EV) sector. While a Trump administration could reduce support for electric cars by potentially eliminating tax credits for purchases, Tesla could benefit from reduced competition and regulatory hurdles.

A second Trump term could also mean reduced regulation — something Musk and Trump have been vocal about — which would benefit Tesla’s new Cybercab business, also known as the Robotaxi. Regulatory approvals are required to launch this service as planned at the end of 2025.

Trump has previously expressed a negative view of the electric vehicle market, saying EV buyers should “rot in hell.” In a March 2024 interview, he said electric vehicles “cost too much” to produce and would be “made in China” in the future.

Since his association with Musk, Trump has backtracked a bit on these strong opinions, saying at a June meeting, “Well, I like Elon, but the car… I’m all for if you go to the candy store, buy some candy for yourself and come back home. But if you want to take a trip to a place like Mar-a-Lago to say hi to me, you better get another mode of transportation.”

At a later meeting, Trump’s views were further softened, saying, “I’m for electric cars. I have to be, because Elon supported me very strongly. So I have no choice.”

Trump underscored this cautious alignment with Musk on electric cars, saying at a campaign event in Michigan, “I’ve driven them and they’re incredible, but they’re not for everyone.”