Elon Musk no longer world’s richest man
Image credit: Business Today
After a significant decline in the value of his Tesla shares this year, Elon Musk is no longer the richest person in the world.
According to Forbes and Bloomberg, the CEO of luxury goods company LVMH, Bernard Arnault, has reportedly overtaken Elon Musk as the company’s leader.
With an estimated 14% ownership in Tesla, Mr. Musk serves as both the company’s CEO and its top shareholder.
In October, he completed the $44 billion acquisition of the social network Twitter. Forbes estimates that Mr. Musk is currently worth around $178 billion (£152 billion).
After months of legal wrangling, Mr. Musk’s Twitter deal was finally finalised. Some have attributed Tesla’s share price decline to the takeover’s distraction.
Mr. Musk made his $44 billion offer in April after investing in Twitter at the beginning of the year, which many people considered to be unnecessarily expensive.
In July, he withdrew from the arrangement, expressing concerns about the number of phoney accounts on the network.
In the end, Twitter executives decided to enforce Mr. Musk’s offer by filing a lawsuit.
According to Wedbush Securities investor Dan Ives, the “circus” surrounding the Twitter transaction has lowered the value of Tesla’s stock.
“Musk has gone from a superhero to Tesla’s stock to a villain in the eyes of the street,” he continued, “as the overhang builds with each tweet.”
Musk’s reputation has suffered as a result of the “Twitter circus display,” which also poses a serious risk to Tesla stock. Musk and Tesla are the same people.
Mr. Musk sold shares in Tesla for billions of dollars to pay for his purchase, which contributed to the share price decrease.
The demand for the company’s electric cars could slow down if the economy weakens, increased financing prices discourage consumers, and other companies raise their electric vehicle offers.
Tesla has suffered from recalls, government investigations into incidents, and problems with its autopilot system.