Elon Musk loses trillionaire status as tech rout hammers SpaceX
Elon Musk has fallen below the $1 trillion mark in personal wealth just 12 days after becoming the world’s first trillionaire, as a broad sell-off in technology stocks hammered shares in SpaceX and Tesla.
The Bloomberg Billionaires Index placed Musk’s fortune at $957 billion on Tuesday, down from a peak of $1.32 trillion reached on June 16 — a loss of more than $360 billion in under two weeks.
Musk first crossed the $1 trillion threshold on June 12, when SpaceX made its long-awaited public market debut on the Nasdaq exchange. The IPO priced at $135 per share and opened at $150, valuing the rocket and satellite company at more than $1.77 trillion. Because Musk holds roughly 42% of SpaceX, the listing instantly propelled his net worth past 13 figures.
The rally was short-lived. By June 16, SpaceX shares had climbed to $225.64, pushing Musk to his $1.32 trillion peak, before a broad tech sell-off took hold. Concerns over artificial-intelligence infrastructure spending, rising capital costs, and persistently high interest rates triggered a correction that hit chipmakers including Nvidia, Intel, and AMD — but SpaceX bore the steepest fall.
On June 22 alone, SpaceX dropped 16%, erasing an estimated $240 billion from Musk’s balance sheet in a single session. Tesla compounded the damage the following day, sliding nearly 6%; Musk owns roughly 12% of the electric-vehicle maker.
SpaceX has now fallen more than 30% from its mid-June peak, trading around $156 — a level that underscores just how exposed Musk’s fortune is to a narrow set of bets. Analysts estimate SpaceX accounts for close to 80% of his total net worth, with Tesla making up most of the remainder.
“For a stock like SpaceX, a lot of decision making might have been emotional and based on the anticipation of huge leaps forward in space exploration and utilisation,” said Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell. “But investing should be something treated with clear eyes and patience, even when such huge numbers are involved.”
Despite the losses, Musk remains the world’s richest person by a wide margin. Analysts note that a 6% recovery in SpaceX shares would restore his 13-figure status, meaning he could yet become the world’s first recurring trillionaire.
Selling pressure may persist. Lock-up restrictions are set to expire in late July, freeing company insiders to begin offloading SpaceX shares in stages. SpaceX remains one of the most-watched companies in global markets, with investors closely tracking whether post-IPO enthusiasm can survive contact with profit-and-loss reality.