Picture: for illustration purposes
Earth's richest individual, Elon Musk, witnessed a dramatic decline in his fortune by $16.1 billion (R304.72 billion) on Thursday. This evident slump came as a result of weak third-quarter earnings that led to a substantial 9.3% decline in shares of the auto titan, Tesla Inc.
Holding 13% ownership in Tesla, Musk's substantial wealth is largely vested in the auto juggernaut. His net worth is currently measured at an eye-goggling $209.6 billion (R3.99 trillion), despite his recent losses.
Tesla's recent fiscal performance saw it falling short of both earnings and sales predictions for the past quarter, which has fueled the dwindling of share value. Musk has frequently commented on the effect of high interest rates on consumers' confidence, which played out dramatically in this earnings release.
The electric vehicle pioneer reported its first dip in sales this year, delivering 435,059 vehicles. Additionally, the profit margins dropped to their lowest within the past four years, prompting the company to repeatedly reduce its car prices.
Despite this setback, Musk has increased his wealth by more than $70 billion (R1.33 trillion) in 2023 along with a rise in Tesla shares. He remains the world's wealthiest person by a broad margin, even after a brief interruption from Bernard Arnault of LVMH.
In spite of the recent struggles, Tesla remains optimistic about its performance and maintains that it will cater to 1.8 million customers with new vehicles by year-end. Basking in the glory of being the most valuable vehicle producer worldwide, Tesla has revealed its plan to deliver its much-anticipated Cybertrucks in November, albeit two years behind the originally promised date.