According to Woofun AI, Elon Musk's net worth plummeted due to sharp fluctuations in the stock price of SpaceX (SPCX.US), with over $48.5 billion in assets lost in a single day on Friday, reducing his total wealth from a recent trillion-dollar level to $865 billion.
The core driver of this wealth erosion is not its holdings in Tesla (TSLA.US), but the deteriorating performance of SpaceX (SPCX.US) on the Nasdaq market. Under dual pressures from the broader U.S. stock market decline and the deleveraging of the artificial intelligence sector, SpaceX’s (SPCX.US) stock price fell to $134 on Friday, marking its lowest level since August and a significant drop from last month’s high of $176.56—a decline of 40% from its post-IPO historical peak.
Woofun AI’s aggregated data shows that market panic stems primarily from doubts about the return on investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure, with SpaceX (SPCX.US) being one of the largest spenders in this space. Although the company disclosed in its latest earnings report that its AI business generated $7.56 billion in revenue for the September quarter, surpassing Starlink’s $5.24 billion to become its largest revenue source, its underlying capital expenditures are equally staggering. Capital spending for the AI segment during the quarter reached $16.4 billion—far exceeding the combined total of its aerospace and network business segments.
In addition, SpaceX (SPCX.US) owns Grok, a product that directly competes with ChatGPT and Claude, and Musk has warned that over 200 new cloud service companies may go bankrupt due to cash flow issues.
Concerns about a bubble burst in the industry have directly impacted SpaceX (SPCX.US), which requires $40 billion in funding to develop its data center business. Notably, SpaceX’s weakness is not isolated—its competitors CoreWeave (CRWV.US), Nebius (NBIS.US), and IREN (IREN.US) have also all declined more than 50% from their all-time highs, reflecting a broader valuation reset across the AI infrastructure sector.
In stark contrast to the sluggish performance of SpaceX (SPCX.US), Tesla (TSLA.US) demonstrated strong resilience this week. By the end of the week, Tesla’s stock closed at $400, up 34% from its low point in July this year. This upward trend was fueled by positive market reception to Musk’s earlier proposal to merge SpaceX (SPCX.US) with Tesla (TSLA.US) to form a large conglomerate.
Meanwhile, fluctuations in macro energy prices have provided supportive tailwinds for Tesla (TSLA.US), with the average gasoline price rising to $4.20 and diesel prices nearing record highs, prompting more U.S. consumers to switch to electric vehicles with lower maintenance costs. Improved fundamentals further reinforce market confidence, as Tesla’s latest delivery report shows third-quarter deliveries reached 486,532 units, significantly surpassing the 464,391 units delivered in the previous quarter, indicating sustained strong demand.
From an asset structure perspective, Elon Musk holds approximately 49% of SpaceX (SPCX.US), which constitutes the bulk of his wealth, while his approximately 12% stake in Tesla (TSLA.US) is valued at around $197 billion. Analyst Dan Ives, in a recent analysis report, expects that if the proposed merger between SpaceX (SPCX.US) and Tesla (TSLA.US) is finalized, Tesla’s stock price could reach around $500 per share, as investors are willing to pay a higher premium for such synergies.
However, before the merger is completed, SpaceX's (SPCX.US) high capital expenditures and the risk of a valuation correction across the AI industry will remain key factors suppressing Elon Musk's net worth. This situation marks a harsh transition for tech giants as they move from the "growth narrative" to the "reality of profitability" in their pursuit of AI dominance.