Every election creates winners and losers, and on Nov. 5, few people won bigger than Elon Musk, even though he wasn’t running for office.
President-elect Donald Trump’s victory sent Musk’s personal fortune and Tesla’s market cap soaring to new highs — and investors who bet $1,000 on Tesla the day before it all went down will have a little extra room in their budgets for the coming holiday spending season.
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After a Year of ‘Meh,’ It was ‘Whoa’ Overnight
On Monday, Nov. 4, one day before the election, Tesla (TSLA) traded at $242.84. That’s roughly on par with where it started the year at $248 on Jan. 2.
Those who got in at the start of 2024 spent most of the year watching their investment dwindle, even as the larger stock market delivered impressive gains. Investors who purchased a simple S&P 500 index fund watched their dollars gain 24% since the start of 2024.
However, the year brought many more disappointing days for Tesla investors than joyous ones.
After starting the year at just under $250, TSLA crept toward the basement before bottoming out at a frustrating $142 on April 22. It then reversed course and ticked up to its peak of $263.26 on July 10.
From there, it was down, then up, then down again, then up some more until TSLA managed to lead investors right back to where they began the year — at around $243 per share on Monday, Nov. 4 — one day before Election Day.
Investors who got in on the action that day, however, experienced a much different ride in a much shorter time.
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Musk’s Big Bet Pays Off for Him — and His Investors
The markets responded to Trump’s victory with jubilance and optimism, but few companies did better than Tesla, whose market cap hit $1 trillion by the end of election week as Musk’s massive fortune swelled to a new record high.
Musk was already the richest person in the world when he emerged as a top surrogate and donor for Trump, who vowed to place Musk in a high-profile and highly influential position in his administration if he won a second term.
Musk’s big bet paid off in spades.
$1 Trillion for Tesla, $300 Billion for Musk and $450 for You
Forbes reported on Nov. 8 that Musk had become the first centi-billionaire whose net worth crossed the $300 billion mark — and Tesla investors saw their fortunes rise right alongside Musk’s. Those who read the tea leaves and plunked down $1,000 on Tesla in the hopes that they could join Musk in riding a red political wave to green dollars did exactly that.
Tesla stock jumped from $251.44 on Nov. 5 to $321.22 at the end of the week on Nov. 8 — and just kept climbing. On Dec. 2, it opened at $352.52.
That’s a gain of more than 45%, which would have turned $1,000 on Nov. 4 into $1,450 on Dec. 2 — not bad for a one-month ride with Tesla.
Editor’s note: Stock prices were sourced from Yahoo Finance and Google Finance and are accurate as of Dec. 2, 2024.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Here’s How Much $1,000 Invested In Tesla the Day Before the Election Would Be Worth Today
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