Too Focused On Twitter, Elon Musk's Wealth Down With Investor's "Disappear" Tesla Shares

Elon Musk's wealth is down. (photo: Twitter @elonmusk)

JAKARTA - Elon Musk's net worth fell to below $200 billion on Tuesday, November 8 as investors threw away Tesla Inc's shares. The sale of these stocks comes amid concerns that the top executive and largest shareholder of the world's most valuable electric vehicle maker is busier with Twitter.

Musk, who has been named the richest person in the world since 2021, according to Forbes, now has a net worth of 194.8 billion US dollars (Rp 3053 trillion), most of which come from nearly 15% of his shares in Tesla, which has a market value of 622 billion US dollars (Rp 9749 trillion).

But Tesla has lost nearly half of its market value and Musk's net worth has fallen by $70 billion since he made a bid for Twitter in April.

Investors fear Musk may have spent more time at the social media company, after buying Twitter.

The investor initially left Tesla because of concerns over the sale of shares by Musk, who has divested shares worth at least US$15 billion. He closed a $44 billion Twitter acquisition last month with a $13 billion loan and an equity commitment of $33.5 billion.

Now Wall Street is worried that Musk has stretched himself too thin as EV makers increase production and face increased competition.

"It looks like Elon Musk spent 100% of his time on Twitter and you know, it might take more capital," Jay Hatfield of Infrastructure Capital Management said.

Since buying Twitter, Musk has made very few tweets about Tesla, a practice that helps him gain traction on the platform. Instead, he used Twitter to announce plans for social media companies such as a subscription of $8 per month for blue tick verification.

But the net worth of the richest person in the world, who also owns a SpaceX rocket company, is approximately US$40 billion (Rp 627 trillion) more than the second richest person, owner of LVMH Bernard Arnault.

Tesla shares fell 2% in the range of $193.7 per share in afternoon trade, falling for a third straight session.