Where does that old adage come from? Each day comes with its own set of challenges, and for some, these challenges amount to ‘losing’ $29 billion. This was precisely what happened on a regular Monday in the life of Elon Musk. Musk, whose net worth was estimated at $330 billion, saw a significant drop of nearly 7% to $301 billion at the market’s closure, as described by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
This drastic drop was attributed to the less than stellar performance of Tesla’s stocks. The stock market has been akin to a slippery slope recently, with stability and consistency becoming rare commodities and Musk’s wealth seemed to have slid down this slope that day.
Worsening matters, SpaceX, another one of Musk’s ventures, had a rocket undergo what the industry euphemistically calls a ‘rapid unscheduled disassembly’ during a test flight. In layman’s terms, the rocket unceremoniously exploded, adding fuel to the fire of an already intense weekend.
Unrest was also apparent on the home front, with multiple Tesla dealerships and facilities seeing significant foot traffic from protestors over the weekend. These unhappy customers were voicing their displeasure with Musk in his capacity as CEO of Tesla.
Reports of vandalism have seen a noticeable uptick in recent times. Tesla facilities and individual Tesla cars have borne the brunt of this increase. Protestors are not just voicing their concerns in public spaces, but they are also carrying their protest over to the online domain.
Internet marketplaces have witnessed a surge in disgruntled Tesla owners selling bumper stickers with slogans like ‘I bought this before I knew’. These stickers can be seen as a public retraction of their endorsement of Musk, and by extension, Tesla, post their original purchase.
Currently, there are no legal implications to consumer-led boycotts of Tesla products. Consumer boycotts have been constitutionally protected under the First Amendment rights by the Supreme Court for many years now.
While electric vehicles have faced their fair share of criticism and backlash at multiple points in history, Tesla’s products are suddenly being viewed favorably. And surprisingly, this shift in public opinion has happened quite abruptly.
To help illustrate the monetary loss Musk experienced, let’s consider a hypothetical example. If we were to buy a Model S Tesla car – with a base price of around $80,000 – with the $29 billion that Musk lost, you could purchase a staggering 362,500 of such cars. That’s right! Musk faced a decline in his net worth equivalent to over 360,000 base Model S Teslas in a single day.
The following day, Tesla stock opened at $225 a share, which stands below its average for the past 52 weeks. This dip in value reflected the recent turmoil that both Tesla and Musk personally have been facing.
On Monday, Musk made an appearance on Fox Business where he spoke about his feelings. It was evident that the weight of recent events was beginning to affect Musk. SpaceX’s rocket explosion, or rather, rapid unscheduled disassembly, added to the growing list of problems.
Additionally, company X had noticed a significant outage on Monday. The cause was later confirmed to be a targeted cyberattack. The increased incidents of vandalism on Teslas and additional external scrutiny seemed to be taking its toll on Musk’s demeanor.
Amid the chaos of professional challenges, Musk also celebrated a personal joy. Another addition to Musk’s family was announced, further marking the dichotomy of his recent experiences. Despite the rollercoaster of emotions, Musk maintained his nonchalant demeanor, ending his statements with a hearty chuckle.