Tesla CEO and Chief Twit Elon Musk has become the first person ever to lose $200 billion from his net worth, according to a Bloomberg report.
Musk previously became the second person ever to lose a fortune of more than $200 billion, after Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Musk has now seen his wealth drop to $137 billion following a recent drop in Tesla shares.
His fortune peaked at $340 billion in November 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 shares have taken a hit this year, with stocks down 65% as of December 30. Tesla also recently announced a price slash in several of its models, offering a $7,500 discount for its model 3 and model y vehicles.
Many attribute Tesla’s dismal year to Musk’s overtaking of Twitter in late October, with many arguing that he has become too distracted with the social media company.
Musk completed the $44 billion acquisition after a lengthy legal battle and has since worked to expose malpractices in Twitter’s operations that took place before his purchase.
He’s applied a move-fast-and-break-things approach such as firing staff then asking them to come back and applying content policies haphazardly to justify banning the accounts of some prominent journalists who cover him.
The decline in Tesla shares has been so steep- the shares fell 65% in 2022- and Musk has sold so much to help cover his Twitter purchase, that they’re no longer his biggest asset, according to Bloomberg’s wealth index.
“He needs to name a formal CEO of Twitter in the next month,” Dan Ives, Wedbush managing director, said on Fox Business.
Source: The South African, Fox Business, Bloomberg, image from Twitter: @JamesGRickards
