Elon Musk Loses a Billion Dollars Every Time the Tesla Stock Drops by $2.43

Tesla chief Elon Musk's net worth topped £376.31 million ($486 billion) in December 2024 as US President Donald Trump's reelection further boosted US markets. However, Musk's wealth has dropped by over £113.04 billion ($146 billion) to £263.57 billion ($340.4 billion) as of 1st April, marking the biggest wealth erosion in 2025. However, he remains the wealthiest person on the planet.

As of December 2024, Musk owned 410,794,076 Tesla shares, or nearly 12.7% of the company. So, whenever the stock price drops by £1.88 ($2.43), the price movement costs him £774.31 million ($1 billion). His Tesla stake was worth £152.53 billion ($197 billion) when shares peaked at £371.56 ($479.86) on 17th December. The stock price is off £170 ($220) since its late 2024 peak, closing at £200.67 ($259.16) apiece on 31st March. During several days this year, Musk's net worth tanked by £7.74 billion ($10 billion) in one trading session.

Musk's Political Posture Drives Mass Exodus

The Tesla stock is down by over 31% year-to-date amid weak yearly performance and market participants speculating that Musk is stretched too thin with his role at the US Department of Government Efficiency and various other startups, including SpaceX and xAI.

More recently, Musk's actions to downsize the government workforce and shutter aid programs and federal offices are driving a mass exodus of Tesla drivers. Tesla EVs have been vandalised and set on fire as rival companies like Warren Buffett-backed BYD capitalise on the situation. BYD also recently unveiled charging technology, which it claims is more than twice as fast as Tesla's.

Tesla's EV sales declined by 1% to 1.8 million in 2024 as BYD sales reached a record high of 4.3 million. Elsewhere, Chinese rivals Zeekr and Xpeng became the first to offer level 3 autonomous driving.

Tesla customers boycotting the company is also helping companies like Lucid Motors, whose CEO Marc Winterhoff claimed in a recent FoxBusiness interview that '50% of all of the orders we have are from former Tesla owners,' attributable to a growing 'negative feeling about Elon' as many look 'for an option to not continue having a Tesla.'

Other Top Reasons For the Tesla Stock Downturn

Brokerages like Morgan Stanley, Stifel, and Deutsche Bank recently lowered their 12-month stock price targets, while RBC Capital expects 364,000 deliveries in Q1, missing consensus estimates of 398,000.

Stifel slashed its price target on Tesla to £352 ($455) from £367 ($474), while Deutsche Bank lowered its price target for the EV maker to £267 ($345) from £325 ($420). Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley trimmed the firm's price target to £317 ($410) from £332 ($430). However, these brokerages maintained 'Buy' or 'Overweight' ratings on the stock.

Tesla's turmoil worsened when it recalled over 46,000 Cybertrucks in the US to fix an exterior panel after customers complained about loose bodywork.

Elsewhere, several board members and a company executive sold over £77.43 million ($100 million) of the stock last month. James Murdoch, a board member, sold almost £10.06 million ($13 million) worth of Tesla shares on 10th March, when the stock fell more than any day in the past five years.

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