SpaceX slump cuts Musk’s fortune from 2,125 trillion won to 1,019 trillion won, halving it; Musk says, "I’m a former centibillionaire"

[Financial News] Elon Musk’s fortune, often described as that of a “centibillionaire,” is said to have been cut in half in just one month, as the share prices of SpaceX and Tesla have fallen day after day.
According to Forbes in the United States on the 27th local time, Musk’s assets were estimated at $695.7 billion, or about 1,019 trillion won, as of that morning. That is roughly half of the $1.45 trillion, or about 2,125 trillion won, record he set on the 16th of last month after SpaceX went public.
It was the first time in seven months that Musk’s assets had fallen below $700 billion, since December 18 last year. After becoming the world’s first “centibillionaire,” Musk recently posted a self-deprecating message on X (formerly Twitter), calling himself a “former” centibillionaire as SpaceX and Tesla shares declined.
The sharp drop in SpaceX’s stock is seen as the biggest factor behind the decline in his wealth. According to MarketWatch, SpaceX shares fell 4% from the previous day’s closing price on the morning of the 27th, hitting an all-time low of $108.66 per share. That was about 20% below the offering price of $135 and 52% lower than the intraday peak of $225.64 reached last month.
The setback was worsened by the 13th test flight of the giant Starship rocket on the 24th, when the first-stage Super Heavy booster had trouble reigniting its engines and plunged hard into the sea. A first earnings report after the initial public offering (IPO) on the 4th of next month, along with the expiration of lockup restrictions on insider-held shares on the 6th, are also expected to add further pressure.
Despite Musk’s bold vision for a Mars colony and space data centers, investors remain concerned that Starlink is still the only business generating steady profits. David Meyer, a senior analyst at The Motley Fool, explained that “investors may have reviewed the financial statements and concluded that SpaceX is too risky.”
Tesla, Musk’s electric vehicle company, has also seen its stock slide day after day as results fell short of market expectations. Tesla shares dropped 15% after second-quarter earnings were announced on the 23rd, and they fell further to $307.92 per share in morning trading on the 27th. As a result, Tesla stock is down 30% from the start of the year, erasing all of last year’s gains.
Although Tesla’s vehicle sales increased, net profit came in at $1.114 billion, down 5% from a year earlier, due to price cuts and higher operating costs. That was far below the market forecast of $1.3 billion, and Deutsche Bank lowered its target price for Tesla from $465 to $420 on the same day.
[email protected] Kim Hee-sun Reporter