For the first time in five years, Tesla TSLA is no longer Elon Musk's most valuable asset. After months of stock declines, his stake in SpaceX has officially overtaken Tesla in his portfolio.
Tesla's Stock Collapse
Tesla's stock has plummeted over 50% since December, causing the company to lose $800 billion in market value. That drop has also knocked roughly $100 billion off Musk's net worth, though he remains the world's richest person, with a fortune estimated at $329 billion by Forbes.
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Tesla's struggles began in early January after weak vehicle deliveries for the fourth quarter of 2024. Things got worse when Musk took over the Department of Government Efficiency under President Donald Trump. Investors worried about his ability to manage Tesla while overseeing massive government budget cuts, which sent Tesla shares into a free fall.
Wall Street hasn't been kind. According to the Financial Times, short sellers have made over $16 billion betting against Tesla in the last three months, and some analysts have downgraded their global delivery forecasts to the lowest levels since 2022.
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Executives Cashing Out
Several top Tesla executives and board members have been selling their stock:
- James Murdoch (Rupert Murdoch’s son and board member) sold $13 million in shares on March 10, coinciding with Tesla's worst single-day decline in five years.
- Robyn Denholm (chair) has offloaded $75 million in shares over the past five weeks.
- Kimbal Musk (Elon Musk's brother and board member) sold 75,000 shares valued at $27 million.
- Vaibhav Taneja (CFO) has sold over $5 million in shares in recent weeks.
While some argue that these sales are just smart portfolio management, others say it reflects concerns about Tesla's future.
Musk's New Top Asset
With Tesla tumbling, Musk's 42% stake in SpaceX is now worth $147 billion — nearly $20 billion more than his Tesla holdings. The space company has been thriving, with 2024 revenue jumping 51% to $13.1 billion, according to industry analysts Payload Space, largely driven by the rapid growth of Starlink.
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Tesla Faces Political and Public Backlash
Musk's political involvement has also sparked protests at Tesla dealerships across the U.S., with critics calling out his close ties to Trump. Some liberal Tesla customers have walked away from the brand, while ongoing tariff concerns under Trump's economic policies have added more uncertainty.
Meanwhile, Tesla has also been targeted by vandalism and violence. Speaking to Fox News' Sean Hannity, Musk admitted he was shocked by the attacks, saying, “There is this level of hatred and violence from the left. I always thought that Democrats were supposed to be the party of empathy and caring, and yet they are burning down cars, firebombing dealerships, and firing bullets into dealerships.”
Hannity supported Musk, saying, “We need to get these people that are responsible for this, and you should not have to live through that. Your workers should not have to live through that, and this company and country should not have to live through that.”
Trump has vowed to classify these attacks as domestic terrorism, saying, “I will do that. I’m going to stop them. Because they are harming a great American company.”
Musk has admitted that balancing Tesla, SpaceX, DOGE, and his other ventures has been a struggle. Despite Tesla's troubles, Musk remains optimistic about the company's future. In a recent post on X, he assured followers that Tesla will “be fine long-term.”
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