Elon Musk's Wealth Drops by $16 BillionThe fortune of the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, took a $16.1 billion hit on Thursday as Tesla’s third-quarter results failed to meet analysts’ expectations. Tesla’s shares fell by 9.3% on the news.
Musk, whose net worth is estimated to be $209.6 billion, holds a 13% stake in Tesla, which is his primary source of wealth.
Musk attributed Tesla’s poor performance to the Federal Reserve’s hawkish stance on inflation. He said that rising interest rates have adversely affected consumer buying power.
Tesla, the electric vehicle giant, reported its first quarterly sales decline this year. The company delivered only 435,059 vehicles in the quarter, and its margins hit their lowest level in over four years, despite the company’s recent price cuts.
Despite the setback, Tesla has maintained its outlook for the year, saying that it expects to deliver 1.8 million vehicles to customers by the end of the year. Tesla is the most valuable automaker in the world, and it is still on track to begin deliveries of its long-awaited Cybertruck in November, about two years behind schedule.
In 2023, Musk’s wealth increased by more than $70 billion due to gains in Tesla’s share price. However, the company is now facing some fundamental challenges. Despite this, Musk remains the world’s richest person, ahead of Bernard Arnault of LVMH.