Elon Musk’s net worth has reportedly decreased by $120 billion over the past two months, prompting financial experts to comment on the significant decline.
At 52, Musk is involved in a range of industries, including space exploration, electric vehicles, the US government, and social media, among others.
His diverse and profitable business enterprises have contributed to his status as the world’s wealthiest individual, with the Bloomberg Billionaires Index placing his net worth at $330 billion. This places him well ahead of other billionaires such as Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg ($221B), Amazon’s Jeff Bezos ($220B), LVHM’s Bernard Arnault ($184B), and Oracle’s Larry Ellison ($176B).
Despite his previous financial heights, Musk’s net worth has seen a decline of around 24 percent over the last ten weeks, as reported by Business Insider.
The primary factor attributed to this decrease is the drop in Tesla’s share price, which has fallen about 35 percent this year from approximately $404 to $263, according to Entrepreneur.
Additionally, Tesla’s market value has plummeted by over $400 billion, further impacting Musk’s financial standing.
Another contributing factor is the decrease in Tesla vehicle sales in the US, which fell by 16 percent from December 2024 to January 2025, as stated by Cox Automotive.
Investor concerns have arisen due to Musk’s perceived association with US President Donald Trump.
In July 2024, Musk publicly supported the 78-year-old President, investing more than $250 million in his re-election campaign efforts in Washington DC.
A significant portion of these funds was allocated to direct mail, canvassing, and phone outreach, according to ABC News, with Musk also leveraging X—acquired in October 2022 for $44 billion—to encourage Republican voter engagement.
Following Trump’s inauguration on January 20, Musk was appointed as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
In this role, he is responsible for reducing federal expenditures by $1 trillion and managing the US federal government debt, which stands at $36.56 trillion.
Experts suggest that Musk’s close involvement with the White House has adversely affected his leadership at Tesla.
This situation has led some to question how Musk’s government obligations may influence his future performance as CEO.
“While the DOGE/Trump Musk iron-clad partnership has created major brand worries for Tesla … we estimate less than five percent of Tesla sales globally are at risk from these issues,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives stated, according to Barrons.
“We expect Musk will better balance his time between DOGE and Tesla/SpaceX over the course of 2025.”
Musk took on the role of Tesla’s CEO in October 2008, following Ze’ev Drori, who moved to a vice-chairman position before departing the company two months later.
Under Musk’s leadership, Tesla has introduced several successful electric vehicles, including the Cybertruck, which began production in November 2023.
In the US, the cost of a top-spec Cybertruck ranges from $74,000 to $94,000, as noted by Car Wow.