Elon Musk’s Net Worth Down by $12.6B After Starship Explosion
Elon Musk‘s net worth has plummeted by $12.6 billion after a chaotic week at Twitter, Tesla, and SpaceX.
As of April 23, 2023, Bloomberg estimates Elon Musk’s net worth at $165 billion.
Nonetheless, even after the decline in net worth, Musk still holds the world’s second-wealthiest individual position next to Bernard Arnault.
Elon Musk’s Net Worth Declined by $12.6B
Elon Musk’s net worth plummeted by $12.6 billion as he fulfilled his promise in a tweet that he would eliminate blue checkmarks from older accounts on Thursday.
As a result, Twitter’s verification badges were appearing and disappearing unpredictably with Twitter’s well-known technical glitches, until they ultimately vanished utterly.
Final date for removing legacy Blue checks is 4/20
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 11, 2023
In the past, Musk criticized the “lords & peasants system” of verification, which favored certain accounts over others. Instead, Twitter’s CEO has now introduced a new verification system, requiring users to subscribe to Twitter Blue for $8 per month.
As a result, media outlets and advertisers are anxiously monitoring the situation, as they worry that removing older verified checkmarks might contribute to spreading false information.
Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bullshit.
Power to the people! Blue for $8/month.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 1, 2022
Meanwhile, The Verge reported that Tesla announced disappointing financial results for the first quarter last Thursday, revealing a drop of almost 20 percent in the company’s gross margins.
The electric vehicle manufacturer had aggressively cut prices for its vehicle lineup in recent months, resulting in increased sales but at the expense of overall profit margins.
Tesla’s share price fell by 9.8 percent to $162.99 at the close of the markets on Thursday. Elon Musk’s 13 percent stake in Tesla represents the largest portion of his current net worth of $163.9 billion.
Meanwhile, on the same day, SpaceX’s integrated Starship spacecraft suffered a malfunction during its first test flight, resulting in what is being described as a “rapid unscheduled disassembly” or explosion over the Gulf of Mexico just four minutes into the flight.
Musk, who has a 42 percent stake in SpaceX, is planning to attempt another test flight of the Starship spacecraft in a few months.
These incidents, which happened in just 24 hours, affected Elon Musk’s net worth.
How Elon Musk Reacts
The Tesla’s CEO commented regarding the comany’s underperformance, as WIONews reported, stating that predicting profit margins is challenging, which affected Elon Musk’s net worth.
However, he expressed optimism about the progress of SpaceX’s Starship program despite the recent setback, and many have noted his ability to turn setbacks into learning opportunities.
On Twitter, Musk kept his promise to eliminate older blue checkmarks, which has caused some disruption in the virtual community.
He also made a lighthearted comment on April 20, referencing the unofficial pot holiday, stating that the day is shaping up to be quite eventful and affected Elon Musk’s net worth.
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