TOPLINE
Elon Musk’s fortune took a major hit Thursday after the share price of his electric vehicle titan Tesla suffered its biggest slide in three months, as the world’s richest person navigates yet another massive swing for Tesla.
KEY FACTS
Musk’s net worth slipped from $256.8 billion to $238.4 billion Thursday, according to Forbes’ calculations.
The staggering losses came after Tesla stock tanked nearly 10% as investors reacted sourly to the automaker’s second quarter earnings report released after market close Wednesday.
The Tesla CEO’s lead as the wealthiest man on the planet shrank from $23 billion to $3 billion, putting Musk in jeopardy of once again losing his crown to LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault, who was richer than Musk for a roughly six-month stretch from early December to last month.
About 60% of Musk’s net worth comes from his roughly 13% in Tesla, a third from his stake in private aerospace and communications giant SpaceX and less than 10% from his ownership of Twitter.
CRUCIAL QUOTE
During Wednesday’s conference call with Tesla investors, Musk likened Tesla’s massive stock swings to a 2015 analogy from Warren Buffett in which the famed investor said owning shares in a public company can feel like there’s an imaginary “drunken psycho” dictating the value of said stake. “Imagine living in your house and some crazy manic-depressive guy comes and stands outside your house and yells property prices at you, and it’s a different price every day,” Musk said. “But the house is still the same house.”
Forbes Daily: Get our best stories, exclusive reporting and essential analysis of the day’s news in your inbox every weekday.Sign Up
By signing up, you accept and agree to our Terms of Service (including the class action waiver and arbitration provisions), and Privacy Statement.
SURPRISING FACT
Tesla stock’s two biggest daily losses over the last six months occurred in the first trading sessions following the release of Tesla’s sole 2023 earnings reports (Thursday and April 20).