Traders who bet on Tesla’s decline made $16 billion in profits. This result became possible due to a sharp drop in the value of Elon Musk’s company, informs Financial Times.
Since December 2024, the market capitalization of Tesla has decreased by more than 700 billion dollars, which significantly affected the fortunes of Musk himself — they decreased by more than 100 billion dollars. According to analyst firm S3 Partners, traders who bet on the fall in stocks recorded significant paper gains.
Among the reasons for this collapse, experts cite several factors, in particular, Musk’s public statements in support of far-right parties in Europe, which negatively affected Tesla’s sales in the European market.
«Tesla had strong brand power that Musk effectively destroyed.» Per Lekander, managing partner of the Clean Energy Transition hedge fund, noted.
In addition, the company may face additional difficulties due to the trade war launched by the Trump administration. This could lead to higher tariffs and higher manufacturing costs in the US.
We will remind that the billionaires present at the inauguration of Donald Trump suffered record financial losses in the first seven weeks of his presidency. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the world’s five richest people lost a combined $209 billion. The biggest losses were suffered by Elon Musk, whose fortune decreased by 148 billion dollars.
