Musk slips below $1 trillion as SpaceX selloff wipes out record gains

Just weeks after becoming the world's first trillionaire, Elon Musk has fallen below the $1 trillion mark as a steep selloff in SpaceX and Tesla shares erased hundreds of billions of dollars from his fortune.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Musk's net worth has dropped to about $957 billion, stripping him of the historic trillionaire title he attained following SpaceX's blockbuster public listing earlier this month. 

The reversal comes after a sharp decline in SpaceX shares, which have fallen more than 30% from their post-listing peak. On Monday alone, the aerospace company's stock plunged 16%, wiping out an estimated $240 billion from Musk's wealth, while Tesla shares fell another 5.8% the following day, further accelerating the decline. 

SpaceX made history on June 12 with the world's largest initial public offering, raising $75 billion before underwriters expanded the offering to $85.7 billion through a greenshoe option. The debut briefly pushed the company's valuation above $2 trillion and propelled Musk to an estimated net worth exceeding $1 trillion. 

Analysts say the recent slump reflects a broader retreat in technology stocks rather than company-specific concerns. Investors have been reassessing lofty valuations amid worries over artificial intelligence-related spending, potential interest rate increases and profit-taking following SpaceX's spectacular market debut. 

Despite the decline, Musk remains the world's wealthiest individual by a wide margin. Bloomberg data show his fortune still exceeds that of the next richest person, Alphabet co-founder Larry Page, by several hundred billion dollars. 

Much of Musk's wealth remains tied to his controlling stakes in SpaceX and Tesla, making his net worth particularly sensitive to fluctuations in their share prices. 

Market volatility has also fueled a surge in short-selling activity against SpaceX, with traders increasingly betting that the company's stock could face further pressure after its meteoric rise. 

However, analysts caution that the heavy concentration of short positions also raises the possibility of a sharp rebound if investor sentiment improves.