'It'll be fine': Elon Musk puts on a brave face as his net worth plummets; will he remain world's richest?

Billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk's friendship with US President Donald Trump has cost him dearly, with his net worth plummeting over $120 billion in the past two months. In the past 24 hours alone, his net worth has dropped by $29 billion to $301 billion, as per the Bloomberg Billionaire Index. As the share price faces a significant fall, Tesla's market share has also dropped massively, shedding $800 billion since he was appointed DOGE chief in January 2025, suggest media reports.

Despite this, the SpaceX and Starlink founder remains the world’s wealthiest businessman. Since Trump’s election, Musk's net worth has declined due to various factors impacting his businesses. Among them, Tesla's stock has been in free fall, with analysts attributing the drop to Musk’s political involvement, especially the steps taken to cut federal spending and reduce the government workforce.

Tesla's stock plummeted by 15.43% in a single day, its worst performance since September 2020. The broader market also suffered, plunging 4%, as concerns over Trump’s tariff policies grew. Trump later attempted to support Tesla, announcing on Truth Social that he would buy a new Tesla as a show of confidence amid boycott calls against the automaker.

Adding to Musk’s troubles, X suffered two consecutive outages on Monday and one more on Tuesday, leaving thousands of users confused and stranded. Musk attributed the "massive" outage to a cyberattack by a "coordinated group", without naming anyone.

Tesla is also facing declining sales in Europe, with markets like Germany, Norway, France, and Spain seeing drops of up to 71%. In China, Tesla's market share is slipping, while domestic rival BYD is offering competitive features and technology. To sustain sales, Tesla has resorted to deep discounting, free supercharging, and low-interest financing.

At the centre of Musk’s troubles is a radical shift in his support for Trump's policies, which has positioned him as a divisive figure in the eyes of people who support the Left. His federal spending cuts have triggered backlash, leading to protests against his companies.

Several photos and videos of people protesting outside Tesla factories in the US have gone viral. Campaigns like #TeslaTakeDown are gaining traction on X, with users posting videos of themselves selling their Tesla cars as a mark of protest. Some are also gathering in front of Tesla stores in multiple US cities, aiming to worsen Tesla’s sales crisis. After recording the worst single-day drop in share price, Musk wrote on X, "It will be fine long-term