The recent stock market slump took a sizable chunk out of the net worth of the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, who doubles as President Donald Trump’s chief of cost-cutting, as shares of Musk’s car company Tesla flounder.
KEY FACTS
Musk’s net worth fell by $7.1 billion Tuesday to $347.7 billion, according to Forbes’ real-time estimates.
Musk’s fortune is now down $116.3 billion from its end-of-day record of $464 billion set Dec. 17, when Tesla stock closed at a record $480 per share.
But Tesla stock has struggled since then, closing at $272 on Tuesday, registering its lowest end-of-day share price since Election Day.
The Tesla slump came as the S&P 500 fell more than 1% to a 2025 low as Trump’s tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico went into effect.
SUPRISING FACT
To put the $116 billion Musk lost in perspective, the 13th-wealthiest person on the planet, Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, has an estimated net worth of $108.1 billion in total. Asia’s wealthiest person, India’s Mukesh Ambani, has an $85.6 billion fortune.
KEY BACKGROUND
Tesla is particularly sensitive to tariffs as China is the second-largest market for its electric vehicles and the company, like other American automakers, relies on imports from Canada to produce its cars. Tariffs “will have an impact on our business and profitability” considering Tesla is “still very reliant on parts from across the world for all our businesses,” Tesla’s chief financial officer Vaibhav Taneja warned in January.
BIG NUMBER
8%. That’s how much Tesla shares were up from Election Day to Tuesday, a fraction of the 91% rally they enjoyed through Dec. 17. Tesla’s initial post-election surge came as Wall Street bet Musk’s near $300 million donation toward Trump and GOP election efforts would translate into a big win for Tesla, which would especially benefit from lighter regulation for its self-driving initiatives. Musk is still $83.3 billion wealthier than he was on Election Day, benefiting in part from higher valuations for his private companies SpaceX and xAI
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