Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, has lost his status as a trillionaire. This happened after a drop in the value of his aerospace company and new rules affecting his Tesla shares reduced his net worth.
As of Tuesday, Mr Musk's net worth is about $962 billion, according to Forbes.
On June 12, his net worth climbed to around $1.1 trillion after SpaceX went public on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
The rise in the billionaire’s wealth continued on June 16, when SpaceX’s stock increased by 40 percent, reaching an all-time high. This pushed Mr Musk's fortune to a peak of $1.45 trillion.
But on Tuesday, his net worth fell by 31 percent. This drop followed a fall in SpaceX’s stock price and new limitations on $116 billion worth of his Tesla shares.
On June 16, Mr Musk also gave up $7.1 billion in Tesla shares. He did this to pay for stock options that came with his 2018 compensation package.
The 2018 package was a pay deal tied to performance. It allowed Mr Musk to earn stock options worth billions if Tesla met certain growth targets. Instead of getting a regular salary or cash bonus, he received this deal.
A Delaware court initially overturned the package in 2024, but in late 2025, the Delaware Supreme Court reinstated it.
In April, Tesla and Mr Musk reached a new agreement. Now, the stock options will change into restricted stock when they are exercised.
Mr Musk risks losing those shares if he does not stay on as Tesla's chief executive or in a top operations role until January 2028.
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