On January 19, 2020, near Cape Canaveral, Florida, the US, Elon Musk gestures Reuters
Elon Musk is no longer the wealthiest man in the world following a significant decrease in the value of his shares in the electric vehicle maker Tesla this year.
According to Forbes and Bloomberg, Elon Musk has reportedly been eclipsed by Bernard Arnault, CEO of luxury goods business LVMH.
Most of Arnault's wealth comes from his sizeable position in Christian Dior SE, the holding company that owns 41.2% of LVMH. Through the holding company run by his family, Groupe Familial Arnault, he holds shares in Christian Dior SE and 6.2% of LVMH.
Tesla's CEO and largest shareholder, with an estimated 14% stake, is Musk. He completed the $44 billion buyout of Twitter in October, which sparked allegations of Tesla board members becoming alarmed. According to reports, Musk even hired Tesla engineers to work for Twitter, which worries investors even more.
Musk's current net worth is estimated by Forbes to be around $178 billion (£152 billion). Contrarily, Bernard Arnault has a $188 billion net worth.
Musk's purchase of Twitter was ultimately consummated after months of legal wrangling. Some have blamed the microblogging platform's distraction for the decrease in Tesla's stock price.
Musk made his $44 billion offer in April after making an investment in Twitter at the beginning of the year, which was viewed by many as being too expensive.
In July, he withdrew from the agreement due to concerns about the prevalence of phoney and automated accounts on the network. In order to enforce the billionaire's offer, Twitter representatives eventually launched a lawsuit.
Investor Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities claims that Tesla's stock value has decreased as a result of the "circus" around the Twitter purchase.
As the overhang develops with each tweet, "Musk has gone from a superhero to Tesla's stock, to a villain in the eyes of the Street," he told the BBC.
"Musk's reputation has suffered as a result of the Twitter circus display, which also poses a serious risk to Tesla's stock. Musk and Tesla are the same person."
The CEO of Twitter sold shares in Tesla for billions of dollars to pay for his acquisition, which contributed to the share price decrease.
If the economy slows, rising financing costs put buyers off, and other businesses improve their electric vehicle offers, demand for the company's cars could decline. Investors are once again alarmed by this.
Tesla has also been harmed by recalls, government investigations into incidents, and its autopilot system.
