After Tesla shares just hit yearly lows, tech billionaire Elon Musk’s net worth has plummeted to historic depths.
According to Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index, Musk’s personal fortune has decreased by $59.5 billion this year, leaving him with $211 billion.
Elon Musk’s present net worth is enough to buy 114 million troy ounces of gold or 1.76 billion barrels of oil.
An email with the subject line “stop all hiring worldwide” was apparently sent to Tesla executives, causing the price to drop to $700 support levels.
Chief Executive Elon Musk claimed in the email that he had a “very awful feeling” about the economy and that employee headcount needed to be slashed by 10%.
Read: Remote work: Return to the office or resign, Elon Musk tells Tesla staff
What you should know
- According to an annual SEC report, Tesla employed roughly 100,000 workers at the end of 2021.
- Even as Microsoft MSFT, -1.66%, dropped its expectations before the opening bell, blaming foreign-exchange rates, Tesla shares fell more than 9% in premarket trade to $700 support levels.
- Musk’s seeming economic doom follows Jamie Dimon, Chairman and Chief Executive of JPMorgan Chase who warned of an approaching economic cyclone fueled by rate hikes, the Ukraine conflict, and inflation.
- With reports following Musk’s apparent demand that employees either return to work or leave the firm. Tesla shares have fallen 26% so far in 2022, as the global market has been dragged down by a technology-driven downturn.
- Since late March, the EV maker has struggled to reopen its Shanghai factory due to COVID lockdowns in the major Chinese city, which media reports estimates have cost the firm 40,000 units.
