Musk becomes world's first half-trillionaire

Tesla boss Elon Musk has become the first person ever to achieve a net worth of more than $500bn as the value of the electric car company and his other businesses have risen this year.

The Forbes' billionaires index showed the tech magnate's net worth briefly reach $500.1bn on Wednesday afternoon New York time.

Alongside Tesla, valuations of his other ventures, including the artificial intelligence startup xAI and rocket company SpaceX, have also reportedly climbed in recent months, according to the BBC.

According to Forbes' billionaires index, Oracle founder Larry Ellison is the world's second richest person, with a fortune of about $350.7bn.

Musk's huge wealth is closely tied to his more than 12% stake in Tesla, which has seen its shares rise sharply this year.