--- title: "Oops, Elon Musk Just Lost $30 Billion" description: "Tesla's stock yo-yoing made CEO Elon Musk even richer — until it then made him $30 billion poorer." date: "2022-01-07" modified: "2022-01-07" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-loses-30-billion" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "Stocks" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # Oops, Elon Musk Just Lost $30 Billion ![Tesla's stock yo-yoing made CEO Elon Musk even richer — until it then made him $30 billion poorer.]() *\Image: Getty Images/Futurism\* ## Crash and Burn Tesla's stock yoyoing was making CEO Elon Musk even richer — until it made him $30 billion poorer. As [*Forbes* reports](), the first week of 2022 saw Musk's net worth jump above $300 billion, before crashing back down to $275.1 billion in just three days. This meteoric rise and fall came amid a [dramatic stock week]() for Tesla that saw the company trading up 13.5 percent on Monday, but then down by 11 percent at the end of Thursday. Obviously, no one should feel too bad for the Tesla and SpaceX CEO — he's still [the richest man in the world]() by far, with his closest competitor, the French fashion mogul Bernard Arnault, being worth over $75 billion less than him. But, at the very least, it does show that for the ultra-wealthy, vast riches are more about numbers on a spreadsheet than anything particularly tangible. ## One of Us? It's hard to gauge just how wealthy Musk really is, not only because so much of his worth is tied up in his businesses, but also because he himself has made grand gestures denying it. Recently, the world's richest man and the [media that follow him]() made major hay about his decision to sell all his properties and live in a humble shack near his Texas SpaceX plant — a decision that's been called into question after [the *Wall Street Journal* reported]() that he had [actually been living]() in another PayPal mafia member's waterfront mansion Austin. At the end of the day, $30 billion is chump change to people like Musk — which is, if nothing else, proof that [money is extremely fake](). **READ MORE:** [Elon Musk’s Fortune Shrinks $30 Billion As Tesla Stock Tumbles]() \[*Forbes*\] **More on Elon's money:** [*Tesla Forced to Recall Almost Half a Million Cars*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()