Elon Musk’s Net Worth Explained: Worlds Richest Man Hit by 40% Tesla Stock Decline

Key Takeaways

• Elon Musk’s net worth climbed to a peak of over $420 billion in December.
• Since then, Tesla’s poor stock market performance has dragged on Musk’s fortune.
• More than 90% of Musk’s net worth can be attributed to Tesla and SpaceX.

Over the years, Elon Musk has helped form some of the most important and valuable companies in the world, propelling him to the top of the global rich list.

Off the back of a major stock market rally that pumped Tesla’s stock price to new heights in the wake of Donald Trump’s election, Musk became the first person ever to amass a personal fortune of more than $400 billion.

However, Tesla’s share price has fallen more than 40% since its peak on Dec. 17, considerably reducing Musk’s net worth.

How Musk Built His Business Empire

A prolific American business leader, Musk first made his fortune as a co-founder of PayPal.

When PayPal was sold to eBay in 2002, he received $175.8 million for his shares. The same year, he founded SpaceX.

In 2004, Musk led Tesla’s Series A funding round, contributing $6.35 million to become the largest shareholder.

Since then, he has continued his entrepreneurial streak, helping launch ventures like Neuralink, Hyperloop, and OpenAI.

Musk’s Wealth Sources

The largest chunk of Musk’s wealth can be attributed to his 17% stake in Tesla, which has seen its market capitalization grow to over a trillion dollars since Trump’s election.

After Tesla, Musk’s next most valuable asset is his 30% stake in SpaceX, a privately held company that was valued at $180 billion when it last raised capital in December 2023. More recently, Bloomberg reported on a prospective tender offer that valued the company at $210 billion.

Together, Tesla and SpaceX account for more than 90% of Musk’s net worth. Meanwhile, Musk’s estimated 42% stake in X Corp is little more than pocket change in comparison.

Although Musk initially paid $44 billion to take the company private, a recent filing from Fidelity, which holds a small number of X shares, valued it at just $9.4 billion.

In other words, the social media platform makes up around less than three percent of Musk’s entire net worth.

Tesla’s Shrinking Valuation

Since its December peak, Tesla stock has pulled back significantly. The company’s share price has now fallen below its level on Nov. 7, when it started its post-election rally.

Tesla’s retreat is mostly due to its dwindling sales. After declining gradually in 2024, Tesla sales have dropped off a cliff in 2025 as car buyers respond to economic uncertainty and a growing backlash against Musk.

As a result of Tesla’s shrinking valuation, Musk’s net worth has fallen to $336 billion according to Bloomberg, down from a peak of over $420 billion.

However, even if the firm loses its position as the world’s most valuable car company, Musk’s second-most profitable venture could secure his spot at the top of the rich list.

Can SpaceX Flip Tesla?

For years, Tesla was the golden child of Musk’s post-PayPal entrepreneurial gamble. But since it started launching rockets multiple times a week, SpaceX has also risen to prominence.

In 2021, Morgan Stanley surveyed its clients and found that the majority of them believe SpaceX may one day command a higher valuation than Tesla.

More recently, similar predictions have followed from Barron’s and The Economist , which have speculated that the potential market for space flight has ample room for growth.

Another key factor that could propel SpaceX to the big leagues is Starlink, its internet-transmitting subsidiary that could eventually rival ground-based telecommunications giants.

xAI Valued at $50 Billion in Latest Funding Round

After Tesla and SpaceX, Musk’s next most successful business endeavor was xAI, the AI startup he founded “to understand the true nature of the universe.”

Bringing together an all-star team of leading AI researchers including Igor Babuschkin and Christian Szegedy, the company works closely with other Musk-affiliated enterprises.   

Earlier this year, xAI completed the construction of a 100,000 GPU supercomputer that Musk boasted was the world’s most powerful. 

Fresh off the back of that, the startup recently closed a $6 billion funding round that makes it one of the most valuable AI labs in the world. Previously, the the Wall Street Journal reported on that xAI’s latest raise assigns the company a $50 billion valuation.

The high valuation could be viewed as a vote of confidence in xAI’s flagship chatbot, Grok, or perhaps simply as a sign of investors’ confidence in Musk (especially given his alliance with President-Elect Donald Trump).

Neuralink, Hyperloop and X Everything App

Aside from Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI, Musk’s other ventures include Neuralink and Hyperloop.

While these companies are far from generating a profit, given Musk’s track record for turning futuristic concepts into a reality, they may one day become multi-billion-dollar enterprises, too.

Finally, it is worth noting that the decline in X’s valuation results from an exodus of advertisers and subsequent drying up of income. However, in his comments, Musk has clarified that he doesn’t want the company to follow the traditional social media business model.

Instead, he is more interested in turning X into an “everything app” that could generate revenue from payments and additional services like AI.

In Musk’s Own Words

“I don’t create companies for the sake of creating companies, but to get things done.”

“When Henry Ford made cheap, reliable cars, people said , ‘Nah, what’s wrong with a horse?’ That was a huge bet he made, and it worked.”

“Starting and growing a business is as much about the innovation, drive, and determination of the people behind it as the product they sell.”

“It’s OK to have your eggs in one basket as long as you control what happens to that basket.”