Elon Musk loses trillionaire status as net worth drops

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SpaceX founder Elon Musk has lost his trillionaire status after a decline in his aerospace company’s valuation, and new restrictions on his Tesla shares reduced his net worth.

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Mr Musk is now worth an estimated $962 billion as of Tuesday, according to Forbes.

On 12 June, Mr Musk’s net worth rose to an estimated $1.1 trillion following SpaceX’s market debut on the Nasdaq stock exchange.

The momentum in the technology entrepreneur’s wealth continued on 16 June when SpaceX’s stock jumped 40 per cent to an all-time high, pushing Mr Musk’s fortune to a record $1.45 trillion.

However, his net worth subsequently declined by 31 per cent on Tuesday, following a slump in SpaceX’s stock price and new restrictions on $116 billion worth of Tesla shares.

On 16 June, Mr Musk gave up $7.1 billion worth of his Tesla shares to cover the exercise cost of stock options awarded under his 2018 compensation package.

READ ALSO: Elon Musk becomes world’s first trillionaire as SpaceX IPO surges on debut

The 2018 compensation package was a performance-based pay deal that granted Mr Musk stock options worth billions of dollars if Tesla achieved growth targets, rather than paying him a traditional salary or cash bonus.

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The package was struck down by a Delaware court in 2024 but was reinstated by the Delaware Supreme Court in late 2025.

Under a revised agreement reached by Tesla and Mr Musk in April, the stock options convert into restricted stock when exercised.

Mr Musk could lose those shares if he does not remain Tesla’s chief executive or a senior operations executive until January 2028.