Elon Musk’s business empire is facing troubled times as Tesla’s disappointing first-quarter results, the SpaceX rocket explosion, and Twitter’s chaos have led to a decline in hypermaster Musk’s net worth.
Bloomberg reports that following Tesla’s poor first-quarter results, the electric vehicle manufacturer’s share price dropped 9.75 percent to $162.99. Meanwhile, four minutes after takeoff in Boca Chica, Texas, a SpaceX Starship rocket blew up in midair. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, these incidents caused Elon Musk’s net worth to decrease by $12.6 billion.
Elon Musk, chief executive officer of Tesla Inc., speaks via video link during the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday, June 21, 2022. The second annual Qatar Economic Forum convenes global business leaders and heads of state to tackle some of the world’s most pressing challenges, through the lens of the Middle East. Photographer: Christopher Pike/Bloomberg
The majority of Musk’s $163.9 billion fortune is invested in Tesla. But as SpaceX’s value rises even higher, Musk’s holdings of the company become more significant. Despite the recent failures, Musk is still the second-richest person in the world, only behind French luxury magnate Bernard Arnault. Musk’s wealth has increased by $26.8 billion this year as a result of Tesla’s 32 percent rise.
Musk is not only in charge of Tesla and SpaceX but also runs Twitter, which he bought in 2022. He recently established a controversial rule forcing customers to pay $8 per month to maintain their blue checkmark status. As Musk had stated weeks earlier, anyone who declined to pay lost their legacy blue checkmarks, leading to chaos this week. The distraction of Twitter continues to concern Tesla shareholders.
Musk addressed the uncertainties around Tesla’s profitability on the company’s earnings call, saying, “It is difficult to say what the margin will be.” However, in an internal communication to staff, he expressed optimism about SpaceX’s development and praised them for their work.
Investors and the general public will be monitoring Elon Musk’s capacity to handle these current difficulties and maintain his status as a significant leader in the technology and space industries, especially as many have worried that his focus on Twitter could negatively affect his other companies.
Read more at Bloomberg here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan