Tesla’s sell-off means SpaceX is worth even more to Elon Musk

The richest man in the world has gotten a lot less rich lately. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index currently pegs Elon Musk’s net worth at $343 billion, down about $90 billion, or 21%, year to date.

He can thank the Tesla sell-off, which has caused the car company to lose pretty much all the gains it made since the stock market opened after the US election, a catalyst that had seemingly chained its share price to a SpaceX rocket. Now the stock has fallen more than 1.5% in each of the last six trading sessions, a distinction last achieved during the pandemic doldrums of March 2020.

Tesla alone accounted for a $20 billion drop in Musk’s piggy bank in just a couple of weeks.

Of course, more important to Tesla shareholders than how rich Musk is is what his changing fortunes mean for his commitment to the electric vehicle company.

Tesla, which is “highly dependent on the services of Elon Musk,” cited Musk’s many other commitments, including his work at SpaceX, among its risk factors in its annual report.

It reads, “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.”