In October 2024 Elon Musk’s net worth fell to $991.6 billion, marking the second time in a month that he dropped below the trillionaire threshold. The decline followed a loss of $36.4 billion in one session, a move that pulled his fortune back under the $1 trillion level.
The $36.4 billion drop came after a sharp sell‑off in two of Musk’s biggest assets. SpaceX shares slipped 3.5 percent, while Tesla shares declined 2 percent. Because a large portion of Musk’s wealth is tied to his stakes in those companies, the share price moves translated directly into a massive hit to his personal fortune.
A 3.5 percent fall in SpaceX’s stock and a 2 percent dip in Tesla’s equity are significant when the holdings are large. Each percentage point represents a sizable slice of the companies’ market value, and for an investor whose net worth is largely derived from those stakes, even modest percentage shifts can swing billions of dollars.
The tech‑heavy Nasdaq 100 index recorded its worst one‑day drop in seven weeks.
Musk’s losses were not isolated. On the same day Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Oracle co‑founder Larry Ellison together lost about $15 billion. Their declines reflected a wider retreat in the technology sector, where many large‑cap stocks faced pressure.
The tech‑heavy Nasdaq 100 index recorded its worst one‑day drop in seven weeks. That move underscored the breadth of the sell‑off, showing that the weakness extended beyond individual names to the index that tracks the largest non‑financial companies on the exchange.
While U.S. tech stocks struggled, Indian markets showed resilience. The Nifty IT index rose over 3 percent, and both the Sensex and Nifty opened higher on the following Friday. The contrast highlighted how regional markets can move independently of global tech swings.
A claim exists that Musk's company plans to raise $40 billion to purchase Nvidia chips.
Another occasion when his net worth fell below $1 trillion is recorded. Together with the October 2024 episode, this reinforces the pattern of his fortune hovering around the trillion‑dollar mark, vulnerable to swings in the stocks of SpaceX, Tesla and the wider tech arena.