Musk loses trillionaire status again as SpaceX shares fall

Elon Musk fell below the trillion-dollar mark again on Tuesday, October 13. Forbes said a drop in SpaceX shares soon after the market opened cut about $26.3 billion from his fortune, only four days after he had climbed back above the line.finance.yahoo

Forbes put Musk's net worth at $982.9 billion as of 10:20 a.m. EDT on Tuesday. His fortune fell about 3.9% as SpaceX stock dropped more than 3% early in the session. Forbes said he had regained trillionaire status on October 9.charter97+1

Days above and below a trillion dollars

Tuesday was the latest of several times this year that Musk has crossed back and forth over the trillion-dollar line. Forbes said he regained the title on Monday, October 5, when SpaceX shares rose more than 5% and Tesla gained 1%. That rally followed a note from Morgan Stanley analysts calling the stock "cheap". Business Insider, citing Forbes, reported that the gain brought his wealth to about $1.046 trillion.forbes+1

He did not stay there long. On Thursday, October 8, Forbes reported that Musk had dropped back to about $991.6 billion. SpaceX shares fell on investor concerns about a report that the company was in talks to raise $40 billion to buy Nvidia chips, and a decline in Tesla added to the loss. According to the Charter'97 summary of Forbes' figures, he became a trillionaire again on October 9 before Tuesday's drop.charter97+1

A fortune tied to two stocks

Forbes estimates that Musk owns about 38% of SpaceX and around 11% of Tesla, so his net worth moves closely with both companies' shares. In the IPO, SpaceX sold 555.6 million shares at $135 each and raised $75 billion, a record that beat Saudi Aramco's 2019 offering.finance.yahoo+1

Musk first became a trillionaire on June 12, when SpaceX began trading on the Nasdaq. Forbes valued him at $1.1 trillion at the close of the stock's first day. SpaceX shares then fell 31% over several days. Together with new restrictions on $116 billion of his Tesla stock, that pushed his net worth down to an estimated $962 billion. He briefly regained the title at the end of June and lost it again on July 1. In July, his fortune fell below $700 billion as SpaceX shares sat 50% under their June high.forbes+1

Mashable has noted that SpaceX is not yet profitable, largely because of costs from bringing in Musk's AI company xAI. It also noted that much of the company's valuation rests on Musk's plans for the future, including AI data centers in space. Mashable said this helps explain the stock's daily swings.mashable