Elon Musk loses world's richest man title as Tesla stocks continue to drop

San Francisco, California - Billionaire Elon Musk has lost his spot as the world's richest man while stocks for his company Tesla continue to plummet.

Elon Musk has officially lost his title of the wealthiest person on Earth.
Elon Musk has officially lost his title of the wealthiest person on Earth.  © Jim WATSON/AFP

According to Bloomberg, Musk (51), who was worth nearly $340 billion at the height of his wealth, has seen a loss of over $100 billion since January, bringing his worth to $163.1 billion.

The title for wealthiest person now belongs to Bernard Arnault (73), who is currently worth $170.6 billion. Most of his wealth comes from his 48% ownership of luxury goods company LVMH.

A major factor for the deficit is that the stock of Musk's electric car company Tesla has dropped more than 50% this year.

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Musk also acquired the social media platform Twitter back in October for $44 billion, a deal he repeatedly tried to back out of.

He has vowed to turn the platform around by firing half its staff, including executives and its board of directors, and reconfiguring its subscription model.

The CEO has been met with heavy criticism for some of his choices after the takeover, and he has seemed to adopt a far-right political perspective that has kept him in hot water with some critics.

On Sunday, comedian Dave Chappelle brought Musk to the stage during a show, introducing him as "the richest man in the world." Musk's presence was met with boos from the crowd that lasted nearly 10 minutes.

Elon Musk also dissolved Twitter's Trust and Safety Council on Monday, which may cause more problems in the future.

Cover photo: Jim WATSON/AFP

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