Elon Musk becomes first man ever to lose $200 billion – Bloomberg

The Tesla boss has seen his wealth more than halved in little over a year on poor performance of the carmaker’s stock

Tesla owner Elon Musk has lost some $200 billion in the past year, becoming the first person ever to lose that much money, Bloomberg reported on Saturday, citing calculations from its Billionaires Index.

According to the report, Musk had a net worth of $340 billion after Tesla’s market capitalization topped $1 trillion late last year. However, his fortune is now worth $137 billion.

Analysts say the losses were attributable to the poor performance of Tesla stock, which plummeted by 65% this year, intensifying its descent in the weeks following Musk’s acquisition of Twitter.

In order to help cover the cost of purchasing the social media platform, Musk has been selling Tesla shares, leading to accusations from investors that he is prioritizing Twitter over Tesla.

The billionaire, however, has repeatedly dismissed concerns about the car-manufacturing company, claiming on Twitter earlier this month that it “is executing better than ever.”

READ MORE: Musk says he’s done selling Tesla stock for now

However, Tesla’s plummeting stock has already cost Musk his place as the world’s richest man. Earlier this month, the title passed to French tycoon Bernard Arnault, owner of the luxury-goods conglomerate LVMH.

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