Elon Musk has become the first person to reach a net worth of $500bn, bringing the Tesla chief executive halfway to trillionaire status.
Musk’s wealth temporarily crossed the half-trillion mark on Wednesday before retreating to $499bn, according to the Forbes billionaires list.
Musk owns 12% of Tesla, which is worth more than $1.5tn, and his wealth has been boosted this year by surge in the electric carmaker’s share price.
Almost all of that money is imaginary. Look at Tesla’s $1.5T “worth”. If you liquidated the company down to the staplers and pens, you’re probably only going to get a few billion.
If we’re saying that $1.5T represents current assets and future growth, yikes. Tesla ain’t doing so hot and I hardly expect them to turn it around with this genius at the top. The stock price merely reflects people buying because people are buying. Nothing attracts a crowd like a crowd! Someday that stock is going to crater.
Anyway, same goes for Musk. He can turn but a fraction of that net worth into cash. Imagine if he started selling Tesla stock. First off, the market would panic seeing the CEO dumping his own stock, the price would plummet, instantly. Even if word didn’t get out, the market would still be flooded, driving the price into the ground.
CAVEAT: None of this considers the value of SpaceX. 🤷🏻