Elon Musk saw his wealth take another hit Tuesday as Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock fell over 5% in possible reaction to a battle between the billionaire and President Donald Trump.
Musk's criticism of the Trump-supported "Big Beautiful Bill" could ultimately harm Tesla stocks and prompt the White House to investigate subsidies for several Musk-related companies.
What Happened: Musk remains the world's richest man, worth an estimated $397 billion, but his roles in politics over the last year have often made his net worth and the price of Tesla stock volatile.
Musk's wealth fell $12 billion on Tuesday, according to a report from Forbes. The billionaire's wealth figure is calculated from his various company interests, which include owning around 12% of Tesla stock, around 42% of SpaceX, and around 54% of xAI.
Tesla stock hit a new three-week low on Tuesday, and despite several recent catalysts like robotaxis in Texas, Musk being engaged in a political war with Trump could have investors heading to the sidelines.
Musk's wealth hit over $400 billion in late 2024 on optimism from the 2024 presidential election win by Trump. Months later, Tesla stock and Musk's wealth fell as his time commitment away from the electric vehicle giant weighed on the stock, and his time dedicated to politics led to boycotts against the auto brand.
While Musk's wealth has fallen significantly in 2025, he remains well ahead of the other billionaires on the list.
In fact, in the battle of Musk vs. Trump, the Tesla CEO is worth 77 times more than the president, based on estimates from Forbes.
Benzinga reached out to the White House for clarity on Trump's net worth figure and did not receive a response as of the time of writing.
Trump's wealth is estimated at $5.1 billion, ranking as the 739th richest person in the world and 738 places behind Musk.
Factors that go into valuing Trump's wealth include his 114,750,000 share stake in Trump Media & Technology Group (NASDAQ:DJT). Trump's wealth also comes from real estate, golf courses and cryptocurrency.
Trump's wealth has increased in recent years, thanks to the sale of merchandise to fans and the sale of non-fungible tokens, as well as various stakes in cryptocurrencies.
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Why It's Important: Calculating the wealth of key billionaires is a tough task and various media outlets have different figures for both Musk and Trump.
According to Bloomberg, Musk is listed with a wealth of $351 billion, a figure that is down $81.9 billion year-to-date in 2025. Trump does not appear on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which ranks the world’s top 500 wealthiest individuals. This means Trump's wealth is less than $6.88 billion, per Bloomberg.
Regardless of how much Musk and Trump are worth, the Tesla CEO's net worth is significantly higher, but investors may soon learn which figure truly matters when it comes to valuing Tesla.
Trump has threatened to investigate the subsidies that Tesla receives and is again speaking critically of electric vehicles. Tesla investors should also keep in mind that Trump was once strongly opposed to autonomous vehicles and stated that he would ban them from the road. The president appears to have had a change of heart or been influenced by Musk to make it easier to get autonomous vehicles on the road today.
Musk previously set a Guinness World Record in 2022 with the largest single-year wealth drop, with his net worth declining between $180 billion and $200 billion.
It is unlikely that Musk could see this big of a drop again in 2025, but continued battles between Musk and Trump could be a storyline to watch.
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