Elon Musk becomes first person to lose $200 billion: report
Tesla CEO and Chief Twit Elon Musk has become the first person ever to lose $200 billion from his net worth, according to a Bloomberg report.
Musk, 51, previously became the second person ever to amass a fortune of more than $200 billion in January 2021, after Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Musk has now seen his wealth drop to $137 billion following a recent drop in Tesla shares.
Musk saw his fortune peak in November 2021, hitting $340 billion, and held the title of the world's richest person up until last month. Musk was ultimately toppled off the throne by Bernard Arnault, the CEO of French luxury giant LVMH.
Tesla shares have taken a hit this year, with stocks down 65% as of December 30. Tesla also recently announced a price slash in several of its models, offering a $7,500 discount for its Model 3 and Model Y vehicles.
Many attribute Tesla's dismal year to Musk's overtaking of Twitter in late October, with many arguing that he has become too distracted with the social media company.
Musk completed the $44 billion acquisition after a lengthy legal battle and has since worked to expose malpractices in Twitter's operations that took place before his purchase.
"He needs to name a formal CEO of Twitter in the next month," Dan Ives, Wedbush managing director, said on Fox Business.
AFTER TESLA’S TERRIBLE YEAR, MUSK CAN MAKE 2023 BETTER
Musk has already said he will name a new CEO for the social media platform after posting a Twitter poll asking users whether he should step down as the head of the company. Musk promised to abide by the results of the poll and later wrote: "I will resign as CEO as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job! After that, I will just run the software & servers team."
Musk had previously admitted to having too much on his plate and hinted at finding a new Twitter CEO.