Elon Musk’s position as the world’s richest individual has slipped to third place following a decline in Tesla’s stock value.
Tesla’s stocks plummeted to a 10-month low on Wednesday amidst continued skepticism from Wall Street regarding the future of electric vehicles. The company’s shares dipped by 4.5 percent, falling below $170, after Wells Fargo analysts labeled Tesla as a “growth company with no growth.” Consequently, Musk’s net worth decreased by $4 billion to $196 billion, placing him behind Amazon’s Jeff Bezos.
Forbes also noted that Musk’s wealth has decreased by $60 billion since the end of 2023. Ross Gerber, CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management and an investor in Tesla, criticized Musk’s recent actions, suggesting that his behavior on Twitter has negatively impacted demand for Tesla vehicles.
Gerber remarked, “The original story that I think most investors bought into with Tesla didn’t really include Elon and Twitter… We all know that that has now happened. The demand for Tesla products is obviously lower. They’ve had to discount and do many things that hurt margins and returns and, ultimately, profits for Tesla.”
Amidst Tesla’s challenges, Musk visited a plant in Germany this week following a temporary halt in production due to an arson attack. Local protests in Brandenburg arose after residents opposed a plan to expand the Tesla gigafactory, expressing concerns about potential water contamination in the area.
Reportedly, Musk intends to meet with local politicians to address the recent disturbances. Last week, the Gigafactory experienced a power outage following an arson attack by the left-wing extremist group Vulkangruppe, which has previously threatened Tesla’s operations.
However, Musk announced earlier this week that the factory had resumed operations, expressing gratitude to the Tesla Giga Berlin team and the community for their support in restoring functionality.