The fortune of the world's richest person sees record drop in 2022 as Tesla stock sinks

Elon Musk has seen his fortune decline by over $100 billion this year, marking the steepest drop ever recorded on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

With a net worth of $169.8 billion, Musk remains the world's richest person, as of Monday.

The unprecedented plunge reflects the latest challenges Tesla, which comprises the bulk of Musk's fortune, is facing amid soaring costs for raw materials and supply-chain disorders. The problems have been significantly exacerbated by the latest recall of over 300,000 vehicles due to faulty tail lights, and by the strict zero-Covid stance in China, Tesla's major market outside of the US.

Shares of the electric car manufacturer declined by 6.8% to $167.87 at the close of trading on Monday, marking the lowest stock price since November 2020. Tesla shares have lost more than half their value year to date.

Musk holds a stake of nearly 15% in Tesla and the decline in the electric vehicle maker's stock price wiped out some $8.6 billion from his wealth in just one day.

Last month, Musk acquired social-media platform Twitter for $44 billion. He has fired some 60% of its employees since the takeover, the latest round of layoffs coming on Sunday. Investors have been worried about whether the businessman is able to focus on his role as Tesla CEO after acquiring Twitter.

Tesla's stock price has been under considerable pressure in 2022 due to a massive selloff in the tech markets related to deep concerns of an economic decline, as well as on the back of the Fed's hawkish stance. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index is down nearly 30% this year.

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(RT.com)