While there are significant differences between the two, no contemporary billionaire is as prominent and outspoken in a fashion akin to Warren Buffett as Elon Musk.
Musk is famous for controversial statements, bold actions, geekiness, being falsely described as the founder of firms such as PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) and Tesla Motors (NASDAQ: TSLA), and for being a contender for the spot of the world’s richest man.
Indeed, had Musk chosen to invest in Bitcoin (BTC) rather than buying X – then known as Twitter – for more than $40 billion, he would have handily kept the top spot.
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Still, multiple additional factors ensured that Bernard Arnault held the honor at the time of publication.
Given that, as is the case with most billionaires, the vast majority of Elon Musk’s wealth is tied to shares – specifically Tesla shares of which he holds approximately 715 million – their lackluster 2024 performance has played a major role in the change of the world’s top dogs.
Still, with the electric vehicle (EV) industry continuing to face pressure and with price targets for TSLA growing lower for the day, Musk’s wealth might take an even bigger tumble in the coming months.
How low could Musk’s Tesla wealth go?
Several weeks ago, Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) made headlines when it issued a significant downgrade for Tesla stock with an estimate that the EV maker’s shares might drop as low as $44.
Given that Elon Musk’s net worth is estimated to stand at $197.6 billion – approximately $128 billion of which is accounted for by Tesla shares, priced at press time at $179.83 – a drop to $44 would see the billionaire’s net worth diminish by $97 billion and land him at approximately $100 billion.
As of early 2024, there is an even lower price target issued by Gordon Johnson, the founder and CEO of GLJ Research, which estimates that Tesla is likely to fall – due to its internal issues and headwinds facing the entire EV industry – as low as $23.53 by the end of the year.
Such a drop would lead to Musk losing $111 billion and having his net worth fall to $86 billion, provided his other holdings remain mostly level.
TSLA stock price chart
While a drop to $23.53 or $44 for Tesla shares is far from guaranteed, the fact remains that 2024 has been a fairly bad year for the EV maker. In fact, with a year-to-date (YTD) decline of 27.61%, it is the worst-performing S&P 500 company of the first quarter.
The more recent performance, however, has been more mixed to positive. While TSLA is down 10.99% in the last 30 days, the stock is 1.94% in the green on the weekly chart. Additionally, the latest full trading session saw Tesla climb 1.22% to $179.83.
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