Elon Musk has long been credited with turning Tesla into a beacon of innovation, the visionary who pushed the world into an era of electrification. But

Musk has been spending a lot of time in Washington, D.C., as the public face of the Department of Government Efficiency.

The five largest companies -- Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, and Alphabet -- were worth nearly $15 trillion when Musk first said Tesla could surpass their combined market values. The implied 17-fold return from its current market value of $879 billion means $50,000 invested in Tesla stock today could be worth $850,000 in the future.