Elon Musk’s losses for 2022 topped $100 billion as shares of Tesla Inc. dropped to the lowest level in two years.
Even after witnessing his net worth decline by $8.6 billion on Monday, the co-founder of Tesla remains the richest person in the world with a fortune of $169.8 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The most of anyone on the wealth index, he has lost $100.5 billion this year after reaching a peak of $340 billion a little more than a year ago.
The majority of his wealth Is invested in an electric-car manufacturer that is having trouble competing in China, its biggest market outside of the US, due to growing Covid-related regulations. In addition to dealing with supply-chain snarls and rising raw material costs, the Austin, Texas-based company recently announced a recall of more than 300,000 vehicles because of defective taillights.
In New York trade on Monday, Tesla shares fell 6.8% to $167.87, the lowest level since November 2020, and are down 52% for the year. Comparatively, the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index fell by 29%.
The 51-year-old Musk has also been focused with Twitter, the social media platform he paid $44 billion for last month. Since Musk took over, the company has shed nearly 60% of its workforce; the most recent round of layoffs occurred on Sunday. Investors have questioned whether the billionaire is splitting his attention too thinly between all of his high-profile projects.
Tesla’s dependence on Musk is listed as a risk factor in its security filings, highlighting that “although Mr. Musk spends significant time with Tesla and is highly active in our management, he does not devote his full time and attention to Tesla.”
