SpaceX founder Elon Musk speaks to members of the media during a press conference announcing the development of the new reusable spacecraft Crew Dragon, at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California, Oct. 10, 2019.
Philip Pacheco Afp | Getty Images
It was a tough week for Elon Musk.
Tesla shares fell 18% during the week to close at $313.03 on Friday, their worst weekly decline since 2022. And SpaceX stock continued its retreat, falling 7.2% in five days to close at $115.07 on Friday, the lowest since the company’s record public offering last month.
The decline of both stocks wiped Musk’s fortune of about $130 billion, just weeks after he became the world’s first trillionaire. In a post on X on Friday, Musk wrote, “(Former) trillionaire.”
Tesla’s decline was fueled by weaker-than-expected earnings when the electric car maker reported second-quarter results on Wednesday. The company turned cash flow negative due to increased spending on future projects such as robotaxis, humanoid robots and large chip fabric.
“We expect this to squeeze free cash flow and slow earnings growth, without providing any return to shareholders,” wrote analysts at Argus Research, which has a hold rating on the stock, in a report on Friday. “We believe that it is unlikely that Tesla will generate similar earnings growth in the near term.”
Tesla stock is now down 30% for the year, the worst performer among tech mega-caps.
Meanwhile, SpaceX stock has been falling for the past month following the initial pop when the company went public. Shares have fallen in four of the past five weeks and are about 43% off their June 16 close.
On Friday evening, SpaceX will again attempt the 13th test flight of Starship, the largest rocket ever built or flown. The company plans to fly a new version of the rocket, the Starship V3, from its company’s hometown and launch site at Starbase, Texas. The rocket is designed to be fully reusable and is considered essential to SpaceX’s near-term plans to significantly expand its Starlink satellite network.
In a post to X, which is owned by SpaceX, the company said it had delayed a test flight scheduled for Thursday “due to weather.” SpaceX previously tested a test flight last week, after the rocket booster seized, “which shut down the engines when they started to burn,” a SpaceX employee said during the event.
The successful launch of the Starship V3, an upgraded version of its nearly 400-foot long rocket, will be the first since the company’s IPO.
SpaceX plans to use Starship to return US astronauts to the lunar surface, and Musk wants the rocket to eventually power missions to Mars.
Musk made a public appearance this week, sitting down for an impromptu interview with The Economist.
Zanny Minton Beddoes, the editor-in-chief of the book, asked Musk about his support for “not just the right of the masses, but the far right, in fact the most diverse groups in other countries.”
In addition to his financial and vocal support for President Donald Trump, including his second term in office, Musk has endorsed Germany’s AfD, an extreme anti-immigrant party, and UK Restore Britain, founded by Rupert Lowe, which he says is “reversing mass immigration.”
“It’s normal people!” Musk said in response. He criticized Beddoes and the “traditional media” for the “absurd expression of the far right.”
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