Tesla CEO Elon Musk Not the Richest Man Anymore After Bitcoin Tweet Cost Him $15 Billion Loss
(Photo : Maja Hitij/Getty Images) Elon Musk drops to second richest man in the world behind Jeff Bezos after his tweet about Bitcoin.

Last January, Elon Musk became an icon of fame, technology, and money among all entrepreneurs following his title of becoming the world's richest man.

This time, a single tweet dropped his title to the second spot, and it cost him a $15 billion loss in his net worth as Tesla shares declined at 8.6%.

What Happened to Elon Musk After His Tweet

As per Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Tesla CEO Elon Musk is now the second richest man in the world behind Jeff Bezos. The 57-year-old former Amazon CEO announced earlier this month that he will step down in his post for Andy Jassy, which will take place in the second half of 2021.

When Musk posted his tweet about the uprising value of Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC), it led to the quick drop of his net worth, but people were still dumbstruck that it happened in a blink of an eye.

Due to his wealth decline, his net worth is now valued at $183.4 billion, falling short of Bezos' $186.3 billion valuation.

The Implication of His Bitcoin Tweet

In a report by Shivdeep Dhaliwal of Yahoo Finance, the sudden devaluation of his net worth greatly impacted his investment, Tesla Inc. This February, Musk was reported to have financed .5 billion in Bitcoin. He added that he expects that the cryptocurrency will be accepted as an actual payment like electronic money in the future.

Musk's bitcoin investment worth $1.5 billion recorded an increase of 70% during the time when BTC was valued at $52,040.21. For Peter Schiff, a market strategist and a stockbroker, what Musk did was expected to occur. 

Schiff described the 47-year-old South African magnate as a 'gold bug' and a Bitcoin 'critic,' resulting in the downward trend in his Tesla shares' value.

Read Also: Elon Musk: Xprize's Carbon Capture Competition to Give $100 Million for Three Winners in 2025 

In his tweet dated Feb. 23, he said that @elonmusk had spent $1.5 billion using the shareholder money to obtain Bitcoin. The company stock on Tesla penetrated a bear market, a situation when a market undergoes a prolonged decline in the price. Schiff noted that it pulled its value to a 20% decline, which is an all-time high record on Jan. 25.

Since his revelation about Bitcoin, the value of Tesla's stocks decreased to 16%. Schiff said that the other CEOs should not follow what Musk has done.

Final Result Between Tesla and Amazon Shares

Since last month, Musk and Bezos were only switching titles, so the richest man in the world will continue to change when major updates in stocks come off.

When Tesla shares were devalued at $714.50 on Feb. 22, which shows an 8.5% lower, it steadily descended at 0.5% during the after-hours period. Amazon, on the other hand, recorded 2.13% lower at a $3,180.74 value.

Other Possible Cause of Musk's Wealth Decline

According to a report by Livemint, Tesla's value was linked to Tesla Model Y. It was believed that a tweet about the availability of the Standard Range SUV 'off the menu' pushed the trend to a nosedive. In this regard, it did not meet theStandard of Excellence' of Tesla. 

Related Article: Elon Musk, Tesla BTC Fake Giveaway Emerge Online, Claiming to Give 10x Amount in Coins 

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Written by Joen Coronel

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