After losing the title of the richest man in the world, Elon Musk’s wealth has been dropping at record rates.
His net worth decreased by $8.8 billion on Tuesday as Tesla shares experienced their largest one-day loss since October.
After losing his position as the richest person in the world to Bernard Arnault on December 13, the most recent selloff makes Musk’s issues worse.
Musk’s losses in 2022 had surpassed his gains from 2021, when his fortune increased to one of the highest in recorded history, reaching $140 billion.
The Tesla CEO’s net worth has decreased to its lowest point in more than two years, per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Tesla’s stock declines: On Tuesday, the company’s shares fell to their lowest point in more than two years, marking Tesla’s worst day in eight months.
Since October began, the value of the electric vehicle manufacturer has decreased by more than 50 percent. Investors are concerned that Musk is using Twitter excessively now that he owns and runs the company.
Tesla stock has decreased by 73% from hitting a record high in November 2021. The stock is down 69% in 2022, which is a decrease of more than twice as great as that of the Nasdaq.
Musk controls about 13% of Tesla, according to a regulatory filing from December 2022. In addition, he still has 279 million exercisable stock options from his big grant from last year.
Tesla stock is being sold in significant amounts by Musk as Twitter is in the red. Midway through December, Musk reportedly sold a further 22 million Tesla shares, for a total transaction value of almost $3.6 billion. Musk told his many followers on social media earlier this year that he had “no additional TSLA sales planned” after April 28.
Following his most recent stock sale, Musk declared on Twitter Spaces on December 22 that he would not sell any more stock for 18 to 24 months. In response to the Federal Reserve hiking interest rates, Musk asserted in a Twitter conversation with a Tesla shareholder that “people will increasingly shift their money out of equities into cash, causing markets to collapse.”
His words haven’t exactly calmed down investors. Tuesday’s trading volume exceeded 201 million shares, making it the second-highest day of the year after December 22, according to FactSet.
When it comes to leadership, Musk is seen as being “asleep at the wheel” at a time when Tesla is dropping prices and inventory is beginning to build up globally in the face of a forecasted global recession.
The company’s investors urge Musk to step up his efforts to stabilize the enterprise that accounts for the majority of his wealth.
