NEW YORK, July 11 — Elon Musk’s net worth soared past Warren Buffett yesterday as the chief executive officer of Tesla Inc became the seventh richest person in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Musk’s fortune rose by US$6.07 billion (RM25.9 billion) yesterday, Bloomberg News said, following a 10.8 per cent jump in the electric carmaker’s stock.

Buffett’s net worth dropped earlier this week when he donated US$2.9 billion in Berkshire Hathaway stock to charity, the report added.

Tesla’s shares have surged 500 per cent over the past year as the company increased sales of its Model 3 sedan.

The blistering rally also puts Musk in reach of a payday potentially worth US$1.8 billion, his second jackpot from the electric car maker in about two months.

The stock is up about 38 per cent since the close on July 1, a day before the company reported its quarterly delivery numbers.

Tesla’s solid delivery numbers heightened expectations of a profitable second quarter, which would mark the first time in its history that it would report four consecutive quarters of profit. — Reuters