Elon Musk's personal fortune has shrunk by more than $600 billion in just over a month, driven by a sharp correction in SpaceX and Tesla shares, even as the billionaire doubles down on artificial intelligence, autonomous driving and robotics. His net worth has fallen to approximately $684 billion from a peak of nearly $1.33 trillion — a wealth erosion that, on its own, exceeds the total net worth of every other billionaire on the planet.

SpaceX's Historic IPO and the Correction That Followed

SpaceX raised $75 billion in what became the largest initial public offering in history, listing at $150 per share — above its IPO price of $135. Investor enthusiasm initially drove the stock up more than 50 per cent within three trading sessions, with shares touching a record closing high of nearly $202 on 16 June, briefly making Musk the world's first-ever trillionaire.

The rally, however, proved short-lived. SpaceX shares have since slumped approximately 46 per cent from that peak to a record low of $108.37, wiping hundreds of billions of dollars off Musk's net worth in the process.

Tesla Misses Estimates, Free Cash Flow Turns Negative

Compounding the pressure, Tesla shares have dropped 17 per cent since the electric vehicle maker reported its second-quarter earnings on 22 July. The company missed analysts' profit estimates for the first time in more than two years and posted negative free cash flow, as spending on artificial intelligence and robotics accelerated sharply.

Tesla attributed the earnings miss to higher operating expenses tied to AI investments, lower average selling prices, and weaker regulatory credit revenue — headwinds that offset an increase in vehicle deliveries during the quarter.

Musk's Bet: $25 Billion in AI and Robotics This Year

Despite the near-term financial pressure, Musk has signalled no retreat from his aggressive investment strategy. Tesla plans to spend more than $25 billion this year — nearly three times the amount invested last year — to expand capabilities in AI-powered self-driving technology, robotaxis, and humanoid robots.

Notably, this spending trajectory is precisely what rattled investors: the market is pricing in execution risk on multiple simultaneous moonshots, even as near-term profitability deteriorates.

What This Means for Musk's Empire

The scale of the wealth decline is without precedent in financial history. At its peak, Musk's fortune surpassed the GDP of several mid-sized economies. The correction underscores how concentrated his wealth remains in two high-volatility, sentiment-driven assets — SpaceX and Tesla — both of which trade on long-horizon expectations rather than current earnings.

With Tesla's next earnings cycle and SpaceX's post-IPO lock-up period both on the horizon, analysts will be watching whether the stock corrections stabilise or deepen further.