Elon Musk’s trillion-dollar meltdown: How SpaceX and Tesla erased $700 billion - EUROPE SAYS
Someone should check on Elon Musk. The world’s richest person is bleeding billions as his 42% stake in SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) has shed roughly half its peak value in just five weeks, Since Space Exploration. . .
Someone should check on Elon Musk. The world’s richest person is bleeding billions as his 42% stake in SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) has shed roughly half its peak value in just five weeks, Since Space Exploration Technologies went public in a historic $75 billion IPO on June 12, 2026, the stock has gone on a brutal, value-shredding ride. Priced at $135 per share, SPCX surged to an all-time high of $225. 64 on June 16 before violently reversing course. As of Friday, the stock is trading at $112. 96—down 4. 47% on the session, plunging 16% below its IPO price, and resting roughly 50% below its peak. The fallout? Musk’s paper wealth has vaporized. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, his net worth plummeted from a June 16 peak of $1. 45 trillion to approximately $738 billion by the July 23 close. That is a staggering $650 to $700 billion wiped out in just five weeks. Despite the freefall, Musk remains in absolute control. A June 17 SEC Form 4 filing reveals his Revocable Trust holds 842. 09 million Class A and 663. 8 million Class B shares, plus another 7. 4 million Class A shares via the EM 2024 GRAT-A trust. While his economic interest sits at 42%, the dual-class structure grants him an ironclad 82% voting power. Public shareholders are absorbing the brunt of the price discovery while Musk maintains total operational control. Meanwhile, short sellers are feasting. A July 21 Investing. com analysis revealed that bears have racked up roughly $15. 5 billion in paper profits. Short interest has swollen to roughly a third of the public float. Musk recently warned shorts on X that their “survival probability… over time is very low,” but bearish bets have only accelerated since his remarks. The Twin Catalysts: Starship & TeslaThe unprecedented wealth destruction was triggered by two massive blows:The Starship Abort: On July 16, an engine failure scrubbed a Starship launch, sending SPCX down over 4% in extended trading. Forbes reported that this single misstep cost Musk more than $45 billion in paper wealth. Tesla’s Q2 Bloodbath: On July 23, Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) delivered a catastrophic earnings miss. Non-GAAP EPS came in at $0. 33, missing the $0. 50 consensus by over 30%. Operating income cratered 56. 88% year-over-year to $398 million on a razor-thin 1. 4% margin. Free cash flow swung to a negative $1. 09 billion as CapEx surged 141. 81% to $5. 79 billion. Consequently, Tesla shares nosedived 14. 52%—its worst single day since June 5, 2025—shaving another $18. 6 billion off Musk’s net worth.