Elon Musk, who has been ranked as the world's richest man, witnessed his wealth dipping below $200 billion as investors turned away from Tesla shares over concerns that the largest shareholder of the world's most valuable electric-vehicle maker remains more engulfed with Twitter.
Musk’s net worth stands at $194.8 billion as of now, and a big chunk of Musk's share comes from his nearly 15 per cent stake in Tesla, which has a market value of $622 billion, reported news agency Reuters citing Forbes.
Tesla investors backing out
The electric automaker has lost nearly half its market value with Musk's net worth slipping by $70 billion since he bid for Twitter in April. Tesla shares have taken a hit as investors remained worried over Musk's focus on Twitter.
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Initially, investors were left worried over the share sale by Musk, who has divested at least $15 billion worth of stock. The billionaire entrepreneur closed the deal last month with $13 billion in loans and a $33.5 billion equity commitment.
There are concerns among investors that Musk has expended more time, resources, or energy on Twitter, when the EV maker is ramping up production in face of rising competition.
"It seems like Elon Musk is spending 100 per cent of the time on Twitter and you know, it might need more capital," said Jay Hatfield at Infrastructure Capital Management.
Since acquiring Twitter, Musk rarely tweeted on Tesla, a practice that helped him gain traction on the platform. He has instead used Twitter to announce plans for the social media company such as the $8 per month subscription for blue tick verification.
The net worth of Musk, who also owns the rocket company SpaceX, is close to $40 billion more than the second richest person, LVMH-owner Bernard Arnault.
Tesla shares were lower 2 per cent at $193.7 in afternoon trading, falling for a third straight session.