Elon Musk's wealth is moving in rare air again. Forbes pegged the Tesla and SpaceX boss at $600 billion this week.
The catalyst was renewed IPO chatter around SpaceX. But one Bitcoin strategist says Musk's fastest path to $1 trillion doesn't rely on a blockbuster listing or another Tesla moonshot.
It relies on one hard asset bought "in size," then borrowed against.
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$1T Tesla pay package is back in the spotlight
Tesla shareholders approved a performance-based compensation plan for Musk on Nov. 6 that could be worth up to $1 trillion in stock awards over the next decade, depending on Tesla hitting a long list of milestones.
The package has been repeatedly revisited since. On Nov. 29, Fortune reported Musk had "started work" toward the mega-plan - while highlighting potential "loopholes" and questioning whether the incentives ultimately benefit shareholders.
But even supporters acknowledge it's a long runway.
Reuters noted the full payout hinges on Tesla reaching an $8.5 trillion valuation (up from roughly $1.5 trillion at the time of the vote), with partial awards for intermediate targets.
In other words, the pay package can make Musk richer, but it's not an immediate lever. The immediate lever, says Bitcoin strategist Joe Burnett, is Bitcoin itself.
Musk is already at $600B
Musk's wealth has surged even before the Tesla package has time to play out.
On Dec. 15, Reuters reported Musk became the first person to hit a $600 billion net worth, citing Forbes, after reports suggested SpaceX was preparing for an IPO at a valuation of $800 billion.
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According to Reuters, Forbes estimates Musk owns about 42% of SpaceX, and that an IPO at the reported valuation could add roughly $168 billion to his wealth, pushing his net worth to an estimated $677 billion.
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Tesla currently holds 11,509 BTC
Musk's companies have been here before. Tesla's latest quarterly filing shows the company held 11,509 units of Bitcoin as of Sept. 30, 2025, recorded at an acquisition cost of $386 million, with "digital assets" valued at $1.315 billion at quarter-end.
Those numbers matter for two reasons:
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Tesla still has meaningful BTC exposure on its balance sheet - despite the company not being known today as a "Bitcoin treasury" firm.
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Under newer crypto-asset accounting rules, Bitcoin's price moves can show up more visibly in reported financials, which keeps Tesla's BTC holdings in the spotlight when crypto rallies.
In early 2021, he publicly described himself as "a supporter of Bitcoin," saying he was "late to the party" but viewed Bitcoin as "a good thing."
Just months later, he reversed course on Bitcoin payments at Tesla. In May 2021, Reuters reported Musk said Tesla would stop accepting Bitcoin for car purchases, citing environmental concerns tied to fossil-fuel use in mining.
Since then, Musk's public crypto commentary has tended to hit themes like energy, money and incentives, which is exactly where Burnett's thesis tries to land: Bitcoin as "energy-based" money and a collateral asset for funding "space and AI companies."
Analyst: The quickest path to $1T is "buying BTC in size"
Burnett, who was appointed director of Bitcoin strategy at Semler Scientific in 2025, laid out his argument in a Dec. 16 post .
"Elon Musk is now personally worth 7,400,000 BTC," Burnett wrote, adding, "The fastest way for Elon to hit $1 trillion would be to begin buying BTC in size. And he can continue using that capital as collateral to build space and AI companies, while the collateral continues to appreciate measured in USD."
Bitcoin was trading around $87,600 at the time of writing, up about 1.6% on the day, according to Coingecko .
Burnett's thesis rests first on Bitcoin's scarcity. With a fixed supply of 21 million coins and growing global demand, Bitcoin is designed to appreciate over time when measured in US dollars, especially as fiat currencies continue to expand.
The second piece is leverage. Instead of selling Bitcoin or diluting equity, holders can borrow against BTC to fund growth, allowing them to deploy capital into new ventures while keeping exposure to an asset that may continue rising in value.
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How Bitcoin could move the needle faster
The gap between $600 billion and $1 trillion is about $400 billion. Burnett argues that closing it doesn't require Tesla to reach extreme valuation targets or waiting years for performance-based pay to unlock. Instead, he points to Bitcoin as a faster-moving lever.
The idea is that a large Bitcoin position, measured in the tens of billions, can materially change the math.
If a $50 billion BTC stake simply doubles, it adds $50 billion in wealth. If Bitcoin rises fourfold, which has happened in past cycles, that same position could generate $150 billion in gains.
What makes the strategy powerful, Burnett says, is not selling the Bitcoin. Instead, the BTC can be used as collateral to raise capital for building space and AI businesses. If Bitcoin's price keeps rising while loans remain outstanding, the collateral base grows, allowing more flexibility without giving up ownership.
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In that model, Bitcoin becomes both a long-term appreciating asset and a financial foundation, potentially accelerating Musk's path to a trillion-dollar net worth far faster than traditional executive pay structures.
However, its important to note that collateral strategies can unwind violently if the asset drops and lenders demand more collateral or liquidate positions. Bitcoin's volatility makes that risk non-trivial - especially at the kind of size Burnett is talking about.
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This story was originally published by TheStreet on Dec 16, 2025, where it first appeared in the MARKETS section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
