US billionaire Elon Musk has bounced back as the richest person on the planet, according to the Bloomberg Index, after a 100% surge in the price of Tesla shares in the stock market.

The Tesla CEO had been toppled from the top spot by Bernard Arnault, CEO of French luxury brand Louis Vuitton (LVMH) in December last year.

Musk’s net worth works out to around $187.1 billion as of Monday after markets closed, according to Bloomberg, which puts him ahead of Arnault’s $185.3 billion fortune.

Mr Musk’s fortune has grown due to a 70 per cent increase in Tesla’s stock price this year. It is nearly 100 per cent higher from its intraday low on January 6, according to Bloomberg.

Tesla shares had crashed between November and December amid Musk’s controversial acquisition of social media giant Twitter which was seen by investors as a brash move that would lead to losses.