How Tesla's (NASDAQ:TSLA) Elon Musk just lost $19 billion

Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA)'s Elon Musk has lost $19 billion in net worth this week, thanks in part to bitcoin. Let's dive a little deeper

| More on:
Two men react in shock at Evolution share price drop record profit

Image source: Getty Images

You’re reading a free article with opinions that may differ from The Motley Fool’s Premium Investing Services. Become a Motley Fool member today to get instant access to our top analyst recommendations, in-depth research, investing resources, and more. Learn More

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) and three other companies, is famous for many things. Flamethrowers, shooting rockets (and cars) into space, smoking cannabis on-air during a podcast, or just tweeting rather random things all the time… Mr. Musk certainly knows how to capture the spotlight.

More recently, Musk has managed to add another feather to his cap. The title of 'world's richest person'. As recently as a year ago, it was unthinkable that anyone could dislodge Amazon.com Inc's (NASDAQ: AMZN) Jeff Bezos from this perch. But due to a staggering surge in the Tesla stock price over the past year, Musk managed to topple Bezos last month.

However, Musk has just lost that coveted title once again.

Musk gets a Tesla-driven downgrade

According to reporting in the Australian Financial Review (AFR) today, Musk lost a staggering US$15.2 billion ($19.2 billion) in net worth… just this week. That was largely a result of Tesla's stock price falling to its lowest level yet in 2021 so far. Tesla has fallen more than 10% over the past week. Tesla is now roughly 20% below the company's 52-week high of US$900 a share that was hit back in late January.

The volatility we are seeing in the price of Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) also isn't helping. Tesla made headlines a few weeks ago by purchasing more than US$1.5 billion worth of cryptocurrency on its balance sheet. Bitcoin has fallen around 10% over the past week. Although it remains at a higher level than when Tesla announced its purchase.

Despite Musk's new place as the 'silver medallist' of the world's richest people, I'm sure he won't be too bothered. The AFR reports that his net wealth is still sitting at around US$183.4 billion. Although that's a ways away from his wealth peak of US$210 billion in January, it's only a touch behind Mr Bezos at US$186.3 billion.

Also assisting Musk's massive wealth accumulation over the past year has been the recent re-valuation of one of Musk's other (private) companies – SpaceX. According to the AFR, SpaceX is now valued at roughly US$74 billion after a recent $850 million capital raise. That's a 60% increase since last August.

In addition to Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk also heads The Boring Company, as well as Neuralink (both private). The Boring Company is aiming to develop futuristic solutions to traffic congestion, mostly in California. It's also the company behind Musk's flamethrower line. Neuralink is an artificial intelligence company that is aiming to develop ways to connect the human brain to computers.

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Bitcoin and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Amazon and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends Bitcoin and recommends the following options: long January 2022 $1920 calls on Amazon and short January 2022 $1940 calls on Amazon. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

More on International Stock News

A woman sits at her computer with her chin resting on her hand as she contemplates her next potential investment.
International Stock News

Prediction: These 2 AI stocks will rebound in the 2nd half

One of these stocks finished the first half unchanged, and the other fell in the double-digits.

Read more »

Person using a remote to flick through Netflix.
International Stock News

Can Netflix stock double by 2028?

The stock has skyrocketed, gaining more than 500% over the last three years.

Read more »

A woman sits at her computer with her hand to her mouth and a contemplative smile on her face as she reads about the performance of Allkem shares on her computer
International Stock News

Up 1,590%, should you buy Nvidia at its all-time high?

The demand for Nvidia's GPUs isn't letting up, which is driving strong revenue and profit growth.

Read more »

Woman and man calculating a dividend yield.
International Stock News

Prediction: This could be Meta's next big move (and it may happen on July 30)

My prediction is this could be the tech giant's next major move.

Read more »

A tech worker wearing a mask holds a computer chip.
International Stock News

Nvidia chips are flowing to China again — what that means for AI adoption trends

The U.S. government just changed its rules to allow Nvidia to ship its H2O chips to China.

Read more »

Green apple with US hundred dollar bill printed on it.
International Stock News

Should you buy or sell Apple stock before July 31? The answer may surprise you

The technology giant now has a market cap of $3.1 trillion.

Read more »

Woman and man calculating a dividend yield.
International Stock News

Is Nvidia stock a buy now?

Here's a look at whether it's too late to buy the first $4 trillion company.

Read more »

Man holding fifty Australian Dollar banknote in his hands, symbolising dividends, symbolising dividends.
International Stock News

This trillion-dollar artificial intelligence (AI) stock could double your money in 5 years

The tech leader is making moves, and if enough things go right, these initiatives could lead to superior returns in…

Read more »