His fortune is getting smaller and smaller: At the end of 2021, the news portal Bloomberg estimated that Elon Musks (51) had a fortune of more than $300 billion. After the latest Tesla crash, the entrepreneur is now “worth” less than 140 billion. Tesla shares fell 11.4 percent on Tuesday alone.
The trigger was recent news that the electric car maker in China is closing its factories. In January 2023, automobile production in Shanghai will be temporarily stopped altogether. Investors suspect that demand for electric cars is declining. Recent price cuts have shown that sales at Tesla are not increasing as desired. The group also sought to boost car sales in the US at the end of the year with generous discounts.
Electric car sales stagnate
Tesla is currently failing because of Musk’s huge plans: Tesla’s founder had declared annual growth rates to be a target of 50 percent. The automaker will miss it this year. It wants to sell 20 million electric cars worldwide by 2030.
Tesla stopped production at its key factory in Shanghai in the last week of December. The factory here produced more than half of all Tesla vehicles in the first three quarters of 2022.
The anticipated global recession should put an additional hurdle on Musk’s plans for the coming year. Difficult economic conditions also affect other technology topics. Shares of chip and graphics card maker Nvidia fell 9.5 percent Tuesday after rumors circulated that demand in the US group was falling.
decreased by almost 70 percent in 2022
Nvidia shares have lost more than 50 percent since the start of the year. But Tesla’s decline is even more dramatic: Still $109.10 a share Wednesday morning, almost 70 percent lower than a year ago.
With Tesla’s value plummeting, Musk had to give up his “world’s richest man” title in December. This is with Bernard Arnault (73), currently the main owner and CEO of the French luxury group LVMH. As of the end of December, Arnault’s net worth is estimated at $179 billion.