Elon Musk’s net worth has fallen below $400 billion for the first time in two months following a sharp decline in Tesla Inc.’s stock price.
The automaker’s shares have slumped by 27% since reaching an all-time high in mid-December to erase billions from Musk’s fortune.
The drop follows investor concerns over Tesla’s slowing sales, particularly in key markets such as Germany and China.
Last week, the company posted its worst stock performance since early October with shares tumbling 11% after reporting disappointing delivery figures.
In Germany, Tesla’s monthly sales plummeted 59% to their lowest levels since 2021, while China sales fell 11.5% from a year earlier, facing intensified competition from local rival BYD Co.
Musk’s wealth, which peaked at $486.4 billion on Dec. 17, has been closely tied to Tesla’s stock performance.
The electric vehicle maker and its options account for more than 60% of his fortune, which now stands at $394.6 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Monday marked the fourth consecutive day of declines for Tesla shares, dropping 3% to close at $350.73 in New York trading.
Investors who had anticipated policy changes benefiting Tesla under the Trump administration are now reassessing their positions, as regulatory shifts around electric vehicle subsidies and self-driving technology have yet to materialize.
Musk’s political maneuvering was a key driver of Tesla’s rally following Donald Trump’s election victory. Since inauguration day, the billionaire has spent significant time in Washington, focusing on cost-cutting measures and federal policy initiatives.
Over the past three weeks, he has pushed for reduced federal workforce expenditures, scrutinized Treasury Department payments and led an effort to downsize USAID.
Despite these moves, analysts are growing cautious about Tesla’s long-term prospects, particularly regarding its autonomous driving ambitions.
“Musk has referred to full self-driving autonomy ‘as the true value’ of Tesla,” Robert W. Baird analysts Ben Kallo and Davis Sunderland noted in a Feb. 4 report. However, they added that they are now “more tepid” on Tesla’s robotaxi business after the company removed volume guidance in its latest earnings report.
While Tesla remains Musk’s largest asset, its declining share price has shifted the composition of his fortune. A record round of funding for his other ventures, including xAI and SpaceX, has made the automaker a relatively smaller portion of his overall wealth.
His 42% stake in SpaceX is now valued at $136 billion—roughly equivalent to the current market value of his Tesla holdings.
At the same time, Musk has been making moves beyond Tesla and SpaceX. He is leading a group of investors attempting to acquire OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT for nearly $95 billion, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.
OpenAI’s Chief Executive Officer, Sam Altman, has reportedly rejected the offer, responding in a post on Musk’s social-media platform, X.
