Three companies under Elon Musk's leadership were in a state of chaos over the past week. The controversial billionaire had his share of ups and downs with his businesses in the past, but one recent bad day at SpaceX, Tesla and Twitter was enough to reduce his wealth by $12.6 billion.
Musk's Wealth Drop Follows Tesla's Lower Sales, SpaceX Rocket Failure and Twitter Verification Controversy
According to Bloomberg's Billionaires Index, Musk's wealth dropped by $12.6 billion, the biggest decrease in his net worth this year. The report came out Thursday, the same day that Musk's three giant companies suffered from various issues. The first on the list of issues is SpaceX's failed spacecraft launch. As per The Verge, the space company's Starship spacecraft experienced a "rapid unscheduled disassembly," which was described as an alternative term for rocket explosion.
Starship met its traffic fate four minutes into its test flight. The spacecraft appeared to have launched successfully after it cleared the launch pad, but it suddenly went into frenzy mode, spinning uncontrollably up in the air and then eventually exploding into flames. Despite this failure, Musk is expected to have another Starship test flight after a few months.
On the same day of SpaceX's Starship explosion, Tesla released its first quarter sales report, revealing a 20 percent decline in the company's total margins. The EV maker made price adjustments in hopes to increase the sales of its products. Huge price discounts were given to selected Tesla car models, which have been effective to improve the company's sales. However, it was not enough to save Tesla's gross profit margins. When the markets closed on Thursday, Tesla's stocks fell by 9.8 percent to $162.99.
The cherry on top of a rough day in Musk's business empire is the controversy at Twitter as the social media platform proceeded to remove the legacy verification system altogether. Hence, the blue ticks on the accounts of popular celebrities such as Beyonce, Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga had been removed. This is to give way to Musk's plan to monetize the verification system via Twitter Blue subscription. Unfortunately for Twitter's new CEO, this was widely panned by celebrities and normal users alike.
Related Article: SpaceX's Starship Experiences 'Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly'
Musk's 'Rough Week' Wrapped Up by Shareholders Expressing Dismay Over CEO's Leadership
If Musk losing billions of dollars in a single day was not enough, a group that identified themselves as Tesla's institutional shareholders issued an open letter stating their discontent over Musk's leadership in the company.
The Tesla investors claimed to have combined shares of more than $1.5 billion. The group wanted the company's board of directors to invite more independent members that can contribute to solving the current internal issues that have been "jeopardizing its long-term value."
The main focus of the investors' open letter is how Musk is handling the human rights situation within Tesla. As reported by CNBC, they cited several lawsuits faced by Tesla concerning racial discrimination, sexual harassment, inhuman working conditions, wage theft and illegal anti-union activities. The group also lamented that Tesla has embraced the culture of "being above the law."
"Instead of working to address problems with regulators, CEO Musk has made derogatory tweets and comments, fueling tensions," the Tesla investors wrote.
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