Tesla CEO Elon Musk is still the richest person in the world by wealth. However, a look at Musk’s fortunes shows that the CEO has lost nearly $100 billion from his net worth since the start of the year. Musk’s net worth is heavily tied to his work at Tesla and SpaceX, two of the largest companies he personally leads. Amid its tumultuous takeover of Twitter this year, however, Tesla stock took a beating.
Since the beginning of the year, TSLA shares have fallen nearly 60%, causing Musk’s net worth to drop significantly. On Monday alone, TSLA shares hit a two-year low, and as of Tuesday, the shortfall in the EV maker’s shares reduced the total value of the mask to $171 billion. For context, as of November 2021, Elon Musk’s net worth stands at a much higher $315 billion.
The adverse effects of Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, which included some CEOs selling their TSLA holdings, weighed heavily on the electric vehicle maker. Amid Tesla’s continued underperformance as an EV maker, TSLA bulls have since suggested that the company will begin stock buybacks, in part as a way to instill more confidence in the company.
Despite the steep drop in his net worth, Musk has yet to top it, with the Bloomberg Billionaires Index showing that the Tesla CEO’s net worth is still nearly $14 billion higher than the world’s second-richest man, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton’s Bernard Arnault.
While the pressures felt by Tesla this year can largely be attributed to Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, the company’s peers haven’t necessarily fared as well. Aggressive stocks had a challenging 2022, with Nio, Rivian, Lucid, Li Auto, and BYD also facing a tough 2022. That being said, BYD was flat this month while Nio and Li Auto posted a change, while Tesla stock lost a quarter of its value.
