Alex Bruno
The most erratic CEO in IT made about $US10 ($14). According to estimates from Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, 6 ($15) billion of his personal worth vanished last Friday after a story on a settlement over alleged sexual misbehavior. Insiders noticed Musk’s wealth decline, which was mostly attributable to the market decline in Tesla shares. Though the world’s wealthiest man seems to escape most of the repercussions of his conduct, he too suffers from the financial implications of controversy.
On Friday, shares in the electric vehicle manufacturer lost as much as 10.8% of their value. They were down 6.4 percent at market close, or nearly $US10 ($14) billion. As of 2 p.m. ET on Monday, Tesla’s stock had rebounded marginally by roughly 1%. According to the story of the $US250,000 ($347,050) settlement, a SpaceX flight attendant claimed that Musk exhibited his erect penis to her in 2016 after she gave him a massage, propositioned her for sex by stating “do more,” and stated if she did, he would buy her a horse. Musk has refuted the charges in the paper and even made a joke about them, dubbing the controversy “Elongate.”
Overall, Tesla has had a difficult week, beset not just by its CEO’s unpredictable and trash-talking tweets, but also by external factors. Tesla stock had been falling as investors were concerned that Musk’s focus would be distracted from a swiftly escalating $US44 ($61) billion purchase of Twitter. Musk’s attention is already split between numerous large firms.
After Tesla lost its top rank, Musk labeled the S& P 500’s environmental, social, and government rating, or ESG, “a hoax” and stated he would henceforth vote for Republicans. Furthermore, Musk said that Tesla was forming a “hardcore litigation department” that would report directly to him.
Musk tweeted on Friday, “Looking need tough streetfighters, not white-shoe attorneys like Perkins or Cooley who live on corruption.” “Blood will be shed.”
As if that weren’t enough, the New York Times released a new documentary on Tesla’s Autopilot technology on Friday.
The video, titled Elon Musk’s Crash Course, examines Musk’s reaction to incidents using Tesla’s Autopilot technology, which has been a source of controversy. According to the Billionaires Index, Musk has lost more than $US69 ($96) billion from his own fortune so far this year. In fact, since announcing his quest to purchase Twitter, which no one is convinced he wants anymore, he’s lost $US49 ($68) billion. Despite this roller coaster journey, Musk is still the wealthiest man on the planet, with a net worth of $US201 ($279) billion.
Source: Gizmodo Australia
