Tesla stock dive costs Elon Musk $7 billion, World’s Richest Man title

While it may have been a rough week for many in the stock market, sell-offs hit Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk particularly hard. The often provocative tech innovator, crypto agitator, and founder of Tesla lost more than US $7 billion in 24 hours, knocking him from his perch as the world’s richest man.

Before anyone starts a GoFundMe, it should be noted that even after the financial hit, Elon Musk is still worth US $198 billion.

The stock market suffered a pullback that saw shares of Tesla, one of the most valuable stocks in the world, plummet nearly 4% on Monday. The losses may have been in part due to global economic fears over debt problems that Evergrande, a massive Chinese property developer, is currently suffering. Many fear that it could negatively affect the entire Chinese economy and in turn damage global markets.

Evergrande has been struggling to cover its liabilities by finding funding, dropped over 10% on Monday following an earlier drop of another 19%, marking an 11-year low. The company has US $305 billion of liability which many fear could create a crash that would destabilize the markets.

Investors sold off riskier stocks and Chinese property stock and moved money to safer assets. Tesla was among those that suffered though it still remains the most valuable electric car maker. Its Model 3 and Model Y have been made in China since the beginning of last year and Tesla has become one of the leading electric car manufacturers in China as well.

The drop in Tesla stock cost Elon Musk, the founder and chief executive officer, dearly as the wealth that he has gained in part due to a surge last year that was one of the fastest wealth accumulations in history took a $7 billion tumble. As a result, he fell below Amazon owner Jeff Bezos who now holds the title of the richest man in the world.

SOURCE: Asian News Today