Elon Musk’s wealth has dropped below that of Mark Zuckerberg for the first time since 2020 as Tesla’s stock tumbles.
The electric car company chief’s net worth now stands at $181bn (£143bn), making him the world’s fourth richest person according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index.
He has fallen below Mr Zuckerberg, the 40 year-old founder of Facebook, who is worth around $187bn.
As recently as a month ago Mr Musk was the richest person in the world. However, his net worth has sunk on the back of Tesla’s falling share price.
The stock has dropped by a third so far this year amid mounting competition from Chinese rivals and production issues in Europe. The company’s stock, which accounts for much of the billionaire’s net worth, fell by more than 6pc last week after it reported weaker than expected vehicle deliveries.
Mr Musk has lost an estimated $48.8bn so far this year as a result of the stock downturn. Conversely, the billionaires around him on the rich list have all made significant gains.
Shares in Meta, which owns Facebook, have climbed more than 50pc so far this year, leading to an increase in Mr Zuckerberg’s fortune of $58.9bn since January.
The jockeying for position between the two men will fuel their rivalry. The pair traded barbs last year when the Tesla boss challenged Mr Zuckerberg, a UFC and mixed martial arts fan, to a cage fight in Las Vegas.
The Facebook boss accepted the challenge but the grudge match was ultimately called off after Mr Musk complained of an injury. Mr Zuckerberg later said “Elon isn’t serious” about the fight.
LVMH founder Bernard Arnault is the world’s richest person with a $223.4bn fortune, while Jeff Bezos is second, at $207.3bn.
The fortunes of all of the world’s richest people often fluctuates as most hold the majority of their wealth in stocks, which trade daily. At its peak in 2021, Mr Musk’s fortune was worth $340bn following a pandemic-fuelled rally in Tesla’s share price.
As well as a significant holding in Tesla, Mr Musk also owns X, formerly Twitter, and around 42pc of SpaceX, which forms the bulk of his wealth. He also has smaller interests in brain chip company Neuralink and The Boring Company.
News of the entrepreneur falling behind Mr Zuckerberg comes as Mr Musk clashed with judges in Brazil over demands that Twitter place restrictions on a number of accounts.
Officials in Brazil have been cracking down on social media accounts that spread disinformation in the wake of riots on January 8, following the defeat of former president Jair Bolsonaro.
However, Mr Musk accused Brazilian Supreme Court judge Alexander de Moraes of “brazenly and repeatedly” violating Brazil’s constitution with demands to block accounts.
Judge de Moraes said Mr Musk should “refrain from disobeying judicial orders, including by reactivating an account that the Supreme Court ordered blocked”.
Mr Musk said he would reactivate accounts that Brazilian officials had banned.
