News JVTech New world record: Elon Musk loses as much as the fortunes of Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos combined
Published on 03/01/2023 at 15:50
Elon Musk breaks a new record by being the first person to lose 200 billion dollars. An astronomical sum which is explained in particular by the fall on the stock market of Tesla and the takeover of Twitter.
Elon Musk breaks all records
Did you miss Elon Musk? Well, you’ll be delighted to learn that he managed to beat a new record. For once it’s not the kind of news he spreads on Twitter. Although he could be proud of it. He is the first person to lose $200 billion.
And to illustrate what it represents: it’s the combined fortune of Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos. This is more than the GDP of Qatar and as much as that of Ukraine. We can clearly see the colossal loss that this represents. Well, in fact, it is not about money that he lost, but about the fall of the stock market values in which he is invested. The fortunes of the richest people in the world are not tangible. That is, it is the value of the company in which they own shares. They cannot overnight sell their shares for cash. The consequences would be absolutely disastrous for businesses.
It is also for this reason that Elon Musk justified selling Tesla shares to buy Twitter. Since it was an investment, it was possible for him to sell without penalizing his car brand too much.
Some even suspect that he originally launched the Twitter takeover to sell Tesla shares and then withdraw. Maybe that’s why he didn’t want the social network anymore. We will probably never know.
But then, how to explain such a fall? Already we have to start with the incredible rise of Tesla in October 2021 which exceeded 1000 billion dollars. It was at this time that the billionaire’s fortune rose to 340 billion dollars.
On the other hand, the year 2022 was not at all kind to stock market values and in particular technological ones. The fall is general, but Tesla especially has real competitors now, causing it to plummet by 65% over the year.
Before, Tesla was clearly above the lot. Today, the car manufacturer is not at all as competitive as before. Moreover, we notice it for example in France. Where the Tesla Model 3 was number 1, it is now French electric cars.
Not to mention that Elon Musk strongly withdrew from his flagship Tesla action. Even to the point that it has more value on SpaceX with 44.8 billion dollars, against 44 billion at Tesla.
Well in the end, Elon Musk probably shot himself in the foot with Twitter. The investment that may cause its downfall if it fails to raise the bar in time.
