Tesla falls out of the stock market 'super league': worth less than a trillion and leaves the Top 10

Elon Musk woke up on Wednesday with a fortune that was $15 billion less than the day before. By dawn on Thursday, the loss had amounted to another $7.6 billion. The wealth of Tesla's main shareholder is suffering from the fall in the electric car manufacturer's shares, which have been hit by a flood of negative data. The group's sales fell by 45% in January in Europe, where it has gone from selling 18,161 cars to just 9,945, despite the fact that the electric vehicle market has grown. The impact has been felt especially in the major European economies. Sales fell by 63% in France, to their lowest level since August 2022. In Germany, where his figure is creating growing controversy for his support of the far-right AfD , things were even worse, with 1,277 cars sold, their lowest since July 2021. And in the case of Spain, registrations collapsed by 75.5%, to just 268 units .

Although there are surveys that speak of a growing negative perception towards the billionaire , it is difficult to measure to what extent Musk's political hyperactivity is taking its toll on his business, because there are other factors that influence, such as competition from the Chinese BYD or inventory problems. But in the variables that are measurable, the figures are worsening rapidly: Tesla's profit fell by half in 2024 , with revenues almost stagnant. In the fourth quarter, the last for which there are numbers, total revenues grew by 2%, but with an 8% drop in revenues from its electric cars, as a result of discounts and promotions to encourage sales. Only the better performance of the energy storage and generation business, which more than doubled its turnover, prevented a greater debacle.

It is true that Tesla shares are still around 15% higher than on Election Day in the US, but the trend seems to have reversed, losing almost 40% of their value since their peak on December 17. In parallel, the wealth of the richest man in the world has done so, which has gone from $464 billion on that day to $356 billion today, more than $100 billion less. Even so, he still maintains a significant gap compared to Mark Zuckerberg (Meta) and Jeff Bezos (Amazon), practically tied just behind at around $230 billion.

That drop, more than 8% on Tuesday alone, and 4% on Wednesday, has pushed Tesla’s market capitalization below $1 trillion, leaving it as the weakest link in the Magnificent Seven. Of that exclusive club of tech companies, it is the one that is doing the worst on the stock exchanges, and it cannot be said that the rest are doing too well lately: their combined market value has fallen by around $1.5 trillion since December 17. That has allowed both chip giants TSMC and Broadcom, as well as Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate run by Warren Buffett, to overtake Tesla on the list of the largest listed companies on the planet. Musk’s company is now eleventh, out of the top ten .

Buffett, known as the Oracle of Omaha With his legendary ability to beat the market, he is the antithesis of Musk. He is discreet and austere – he has lived in the same house for almost seven decades. He has no presence on social media. He has even publicly declared himself a Democrat. He is in favour of large fortunes paying more taxes. And his investment philosophy has as one of its basic principles choosing companies whose business he understands – his long-standing stake in Coca-Cola is the clearest example. The South African-born tycoon, on the other hand, sets social media on fire practically every day. The Republican administration of Donald Trump has given him the position of supervisor of the Department of Government Effectiveness to undertake huge cuts in public spending, and he has built a business empire thanks to his ability to break into cutting-edge industries for which there is no clear visibility regarding their future, from the electric car to artificial intelligence, through the aerospace sector, social networks or neurotechnology.

Political distractions

Tesla's valuation has been a source of suspicion for years. One question, how is it possible for a car manufacturer to be worth as much on the stock market as its next ten competitors combined, has been floating around for some time. Musk's answer is that Tesla is not a car company, but rather a rising star in artificial intelligence and robotics, two of the hottest sectors, and that gives it growth potential that means its multiples do not have to follow the logic of rivals such as Toyota, Volkswagen or Stellantis.

That message coexists with another reality: that of his increasing dedication to activities that have nothing to do with Tesla. “Does Elon Musk Care About Still Selling Cars?” headlined The New York Times a recent article, alluding to his apparent loss of interest in worldly business in favour of the fruits of politics.