BUSINESS
Elon Musk Loses $350bn After SpaceX AI Bond Plan Sparks Market Panic
Elon Musk, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tesla and SpaceX, has suffered the largest loss of personal wealth ever recorded in human history.
A sharp decline in the value of SpaceX shares has erased a staggering $350 billion from his fortune in just one week.
According to data tracked by Forbes, Musk’s net worth fell from an all-time high of $1.45 trillion to just under $1.1 trillion.
The historic drop follows a nearly 30 percent decline in SpaceX’s share price from its peak on June 16.
The financial rollercoaster comes on the heels of SpaceX’s record-breaking Initial Public Offering (IPO).
Following its debut on June 12, SpaceX shares initially surged by as much as 67 percent during the first three days of trading, pushing the aerospace giant’s valuation past $1.8 trillion and briefly catapulting Musk to status as the world’s first trillionaire.
However, market sentiment quickly shifted. The stock has since declined for three consecutive trading sessions, wiping out roughly $928 billion in market value from its peak of $2.9 trillion down to about $2 trillion.
Musk’s personal fortune is heavily tied to the aerospace firm, where he holds a dominant 38 percent stake, alongside an 11 percent holding in Tesla and investments in several other frontier ventures.
Industry analysts point to SpaceX’s aggressive new corporate strategy as the catalyst for the sell-off.
On Monday, the company recorded its steepest one-day decline as a publicly listed entity, falling 16.4 percent.
The drop came immediately after the company unveiled plans for its first investment-grade bond offering, aimed at raising at least $20 billion to aggressively fund its artificial intelligence (AI) expansion.
The sudden pivot toward heavily debt-funded AI infrastructure appears to have triggered broader skepticism among investors, raising concerns about big tech over-leveraging to chase the ongoing artificial intelligence boom.
Despite the massive correction, SpaceX shares closed at $154 on Monday, remaining safely above the initial IPO price of $135 set on June 12, ensuring Musk comfortably retains his status as a trillionaire despite the unprecedented weekly loss.