Elon Musk’s losses earn him a place in the record books. Lessons learned? Not a chance

Tesla’s shares have taken a bath and so has Elon Musk’s wealth. But Wall Street continues to indulge petulant tech bros, writes James Moore

Elon Musk’s overall wealth has declined by billions of dollars (Getty/iStock/Twitter)

When it comes to the spectacular decline in Elon Musk’s wealth, there’s enough schadenfreude to fill (nearly) every can of beer at a Downing Street lockdown party hosted by Boris Johnson. His losses have even been certified as a Guinness World Record.

Given the way he carries on, is the joy at his losses in some quarters even shameful?

Forbes has put the decline at $182bn (£150bn) but some commentators think it could be as much as $200bn (£164bn). With billionaires, whose personal affairs are often more complex than those of their companies and many small countries, it’s not all that easy to tell.