Elon Musk Is the First Person to Lose $200 Billion
Tesla's stock nose-dive has taken a toll on the billionaire's net worth.
By Steve Huff •
It's been a wild ride for Elon Musk. After becoming the second person to ever become worth $200 billion in January 2021, followed by his signature company Tesla reaching a market capitalization of $1 trillion, Musk has seen $200 billion erased from his net worth.
There's no need to set up a GoFundMe. The Twitter owner and Tesla CEO is unlikely to ever run out of money. Still, according to Bloomberg, he does stand alone astride a bonfire of money, partly because his Twitter purchase may have torpedoed his Tesla fortune.
Musk, 51, has seen his wealth plummet to $137 billion after Tesla shares tumbled in recent weeks, including an 11% drop on Tuesday, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His fortune peaked at $340 billion on Nov. 4, 2021, and he remained the world's richest person until he was overtaken this month by Bernard Arnault, the French tycoon behind luxury-goods powerhouse LVMH.
Tesla has been synonymous with EVs for years. Since Musk purchased Twitter, in particular, Tesla's dominance in branding and market share has declined. Investor worries have caused shares to drop by 65% across 2022.
Bloomberg notes that Musk has sold such a large percentage of his Tesla stock that his most significant asset is now Space Exploration Technologies Corp. in addition to his 42.2% stake in SpaceX.
Elon Musk hasn't been too worried, tweeting statements like "Tesla is executing better than ever!" as recently as Dec. 16, when the EV company's stock was $150 a share.
As of Jan. 3, 2023, Tesla stocks — selling for $383.20 on Jan. 4, 2022 — were down to $108.10.
