<p><em>By Diana Li</em></p>.<p>Elon Musk’s fortune slumped $20.3 billion Thursday after Tesla Inc warned it may have to keep cutting the prices of its electric vehicles, sending shares tumbling.</p>.<p>The drop in net worth to $234.4 billion is the seventh-largest decline ever among those in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, and further narrows the wealth gap between Musk and Bernard Arnault, the world’s two richest people.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/business/business-news/fleet-safety-is-still-an-afterthought-in-india-netradyne-s-agrawal-1239049.html">Fleet safety is still an afterthought in India: Netradyne’s Agrawal</a></strong></p>.<p>Musk’s fortune still exceeds that of Arnault, chairman of luxury goods maker LVMH, by about $33 billion.</p>.<p>Musk wasn’t the only US technology billionaire having a tough day. Amazon.com Inc’s Jeff Bezos, Oracle Corp’s Larry Ellison, former Microsoft Corp CEO Steve Ballmer, Meta Platforms Inc’s Mark Zuckerberg and Alphabet Inc co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin shed a collective $20.8 billion in net worth as the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 fell 2.3 per cent.</p>.<p>Shares of Austin-based Tesla slid 9.7 per cent to $262.90 in New York, the most since April 20, after the company warned of more hits to its already-shrinking profitability. Months of markdowns have taken a toll on automotive gross margin, which fell to a four-year low in the second quarter. Musk, the company’s CEO, said Wednesday Tesla will have to keep lowering prices if interest rates continue to rise.</p>.<p>Musk, 52, derives his wealth primarily from his stake in the EV manufacturer, as well as his holdings in Space Exploration Technologies and Twitter. His wealth had increased about $118 billion this year through Wednesday, as shares of Tesla climbed 136 per cent.</p>.<p>Arnault, 74, has seen his net worth rise by $39 billion this year to $201.2 billion. Shares of Paris-based LVMH have gained 26 per cent in 2023.</p>
<p><em>By Diana Li</em></p>.<p>Elon Musk’s fortune slumped $20.3 billion Thursday after Tesla Inc warned it may have to keep cutting the prices of its electric vehicles, sending shares tumbling.</p>.<p>The drop in net worth to $234.4 billion is the seventh-largest decline ever among those in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, and further narrows the wealth gap between Musk and Bernard Arnault, the world’s two richest people.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/business/business-news/fleet-safety-is-still-an-afterthought-in-india-netradyne-s-agrawal-1239049.html">Fleet safety is still an afterthought in India: Netradyne’s Agrawal</a></strong></p>.<p>Musk’s fortune still exceeds that of Arnault, chairman of luxury goods maker LVMH, by about $33 billion.</p>.<p>Musk wasn’t the only US technology billionaire having a tough day. Amazon.com Inc’s Jeff Bezos, Oracle Corp’s Larry Ellison, former Microsoft Corp CEO Steve Ballmer, Meta Platforms Inc’s Mark Zuckerberg and Alphabet Inc co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin shed a collective $20.8 billion in net worth as the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 fell 2.3 per cent.</p>.<p>Shares of Austin-based Tesla slid 9.7 per cent to $262.90 in New York, the most since April 20, after the company warned of more hits to its already-shrinking profitability. Months of markdowns have taken a toll on automotive gross margin, which fell to a four-year low in the second quarter. Musk, the company’s CEO, said Wednesday Tesla will have to keep lowering prices if interest rates continue to rise.</p>.<p>Musk, 52, derives his wealth primarily from his stake in the EV manufacturer, as well as his holdings in Space Exploration Technologies and Twitter. His wealth had increased about $118 billion this year through Wednesday, as shares of Tesla climbed 136 per cent.</p>.<p>Arnault, 74, has seen his net worth rise by $39 billion this year to $201.2 billion. Shares of Paris-based LVMH have gained 26 per cent in 2023.</p>
