Elon Musk Loses $20.3 Billion as Tesla Shares Experience Major Slump
Thursday proved to be a tumultuous day for Elon Musk, the CEO of electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Tesla, as his wealth took a massive hit of $20.3 billion. This drastic decline in Musk’s net worth was triggered by Tesla’s shares experiencing their worst slump in months amid growing fears of a drop in the company’s profits, as reported by Bloomberg.
During trading hours in New York on Thursday, Tesla’s shares plummeted by 9.7% to reach $262.90 per share. This marked the steepest decline in the company’s stock value since April 20. The downturn came shortly after Musk’s announcement on Wednesday, where he warned that Tesla would have to continue lowering prices if interest rates continued to rise.
According to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, Elon Musk’s net worth now stands at $234.4 billion, making it the seventh-largest decline ever recorded among the world’s richest individuals listed on the index.
Notably, this sharp dip in Musk’s wealth has resulted in the narrowing of the gap between the world’s two wealthiest people – Musk and Bernard Arnault, the chairman of luxury goods conglomerate LVMH (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton).
Despite the substantial decline, Musk’s fortune still exceeds that of Bernard Arnault by approximately $33 billion. In June, Musk managed to overtake Arnault to become the world’s richest person after LVMH’s shares experienced a 2.6% fall. Since then, the two billionaires have been neck-and-neck for the top spot in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
A significant portion of Elon Musk’s wealth is directly tied to his approximately 13% ownership of Tesla stock, linking his personal fortune closely to the performance of the electric car manufacturer. Additionally, Musk derives wealth from his holdings in Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and Twitter.
Until Thursday’s slump, Musk had witnessed a remarkable surge in his net worth this year, increasing by approximately $118 billion to surpass $250 billion. This substantial gain was mainly driven by Tesla’s stock climbing an impressive 136% year-to-date.
