Elon Musk experienced a substantial reduction in his net worth this week, plummeting to $193 billion, as reported by Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index. This marks the first time since June that the CEO of Tesla has seen his net worth dip below the $200 billion threshold, primarily due to the disappointing quarterly earnings report from Tesla and the loss of value of X (formerly known as Twitter).
The decline in Musk’s wealth can be partly attributed to the notable underperformance of Tesla stock, which has witnessed a substantial drop of more than 18% since the Q3 2023 earnings call held on October 18, 2023. Furthermore, on a subsequent Monday, the stock experienced an additional decline of nearly 5%. This latest downturn came in response to reports revealing that Panasonic, a long-standing partner and supplier for the electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer, had scaled back its battery cell production in Japan during the period ending September 2023.
Bloomberg’s calculations show that Musk’s fortune has contracted by a staggering $41 billion following Tesla’s lackluster earnings call on October 18. Before the disappointing performance was disclosed, his net worth was estimated to be around $234 billion.
Forbes presents a slightly higher estimate of Musk’s net worth, valuing it at $213.8 billion, while still acknowledging a recent loss of approximately $1 billion. Nevertheless, as of October 31, both Bloomberg and Forbes concur that Elon Musk maintains his status as the world’s wealthiest individual.
Musk’s diversified portfolio encompasses ventures such as SpaceX and the Boring Company, in addition to his significant stake in Tesla, all contributing to his substantial wealth.
In April 2022, Musk made a high-profile acquisition, purchasing Twitter, which he subsequently rebranded as “X.” This acquisition came with a hefty price tag of $44 billion, and Musk now commands an impressive 74% ownership of the social media platform. Recent assessments indicate that the company’s self-evaluated worth as of Monday stands at $19 billion, roughly 55% lower than Musk’s acquisition cost last year. Musk himself acknowledged having overpaid as one of the reasons for his attempted withdrawal from the deal.
In November 2022, his net worth experienced a decline to an estimated $195.6 billion, marking its lowest point in 2022, according to Forbes. This followed a significant drop in October 2021 when his net worth fell below the $200 billion mark.
The November 2022 dip set a historic record for the largest personal wealth loss in history, as recognized by Guinness World Records. Guinness, citing Forbes, reported that Musk had shed approximately $182 billion of his net worth since November 2021, with some estimates even suggesting losses of up to $200 billion.
