Tesla's plunging share price wipes US$16b from Elon Musk's personal wealth

Elon Musk lost billions as Tesla shares plunged this week. Photo / AP

Elon Musk's net worth has dropped US$16.3 billion ($24.4b) in 24 hours, the largest ever single-day fall for a billionaire.

The drop in the Tesla chief executive's net worth came as the electric car manufacturer's shares dropped 21 per cent on Tuesday.

Musk, who is now worth US$82.3b, is the fifth wealthiest person in the world behind Bernard Arnault, the chairman and chief executive of luxury goods business LVMH Moet Hennessy – Louis Vuitton.

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A 500 per cent rally in Tesla shares from January to the end of August, had caused Musk's net work to exceed $100b.

The company's chief executive was handed a $769 million pay package in May after he kept Tesla's valuation above $100b and raised its revenues to more than $20b.

However, Tesla's large share price fall this week came after Scottish investor Baillie Gifford reduced its stake in the company and Tesla announced a $5b stock offering.

Tesla was also denied entry to the S&P 500 in a reshuffle of the US blue-chip index on Friday.

GM's purchase of a $2b stake in carmaker Nikola may have contributed to Tesla's slide. Photo / AP

Many investors had expected Tesla's recent stock split to clear the way for entry, causing a rush of index-linked purchases of its shares.

Also on Tuesday,Nikola, a key Tesla rival, announced a partnership with General Motors. GM agreed to take a $2b stake in Nikola, which is building hydrogen-powered cars.

GM will also work with Nikola on its Badger pick-up truck, which is expected to enter production by the end of 2022.

The wider Wall Street technology sell-off has spread to the Asian markets, with shares in Japanese telecoms conglomerate SoftBank falling as much as 7 per cent on Wednesday.

Investors have expressed concern over SoftBank's new focus on making risky bets on equity derivatives. Filings show the business has invested in 26 listed companies including Netflix, Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, Zoom, T-Mobile and Tesla.

- Telegraph Group Ltd