Elon Musk Has Become The First Person In History To Lose $200 Billion

Twitter and Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk is, according to some, a great businessman who has an uncanny knack for making money in any market.

But it appears that reputation is nothing but hype, as Musk has now become the first person in history to ever lose $200 billion of their net worth.

According to Bloomberg, Musk’s sudden reversal of fortune is tied to the decline of value in Tesla stock, which has been tanking in recent weeks.

Musk, 51, has seen his wealth plummet to $137 billion after Tesla shares tumbled in recent weeks, including an 11% drop on Tuesday, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His fortune peaked at $340 billion on Nov. 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.

How bad are things for Tesla? The company is now offering deep discounts on its electric vehicles.

Now Tesla’s dominance in electric cars, the foundation of its lofty valuation,  is in jeopardy as competitors catch up. It’s offering US consumers a rare  $7,500 discount to take delivery of its two highest-volume models before year-end, while also reportedly reducing production at its Shanghai plant.

Oh, there’s also the matter of Musk’s $44 billion purchase of Twitter, which has been beset with one problem after another since he took control in October.

But to hear Musk tell it, every problem he faces is someone else’s fault.

Musk, for his part, has dismissed concerns about Tesla and has repeatedly taken to Twitter to criticize the Federal Reserve for raising interest rates at the fastest pace in a generation. 

“Tesla is executing better than ever!” Musk tweeted on Dec. 16. “We don’t control the Federal Reserve. That is the real problem here.”

And in what may wind up being the biggest irony of all, Musk has also warned not to take on large amounts of debt in such an uncertain financial market, remarking on the All-In podcast:

“I would really advise people not to have margin debt in a volatile stock market and you know, from a cash standpoint, keep powder dry. You can get some pretty extreme things happening in a down market.”

Too bad he didn’t follow his own advice.