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Elon Musk Loses His Fortune Due to a Mistake in a Shocking Deal — What Really Happened?
For a man who has spent years rewriting the rules of business, technology and personal wealth, Elon Musk has experienced a remarkably dramatic reversal in fortune this summer.
At one point in June 2026, Musk became the world’s first trillionaire after the public debut of SpaceX sent the value of his stake soaring. Within weeks, however, hundreds of billions of dollars had disappeared from his estimated net worth as SpaceX and Tesla shares fell sharply.
The numbers were so extraordinary that headlines began suggesting Musk had “lost his fortune” or made a catastrophic mistake.
But the reality is more complicated.
Musk did not suddenly lose his companies, nor did one single deal wipe out his wealth. Instead, the extraordinary decline was largely driven by the changing market value of the companies in which most of his wealth is concentrated. And one decision surrounding the historic SpaceX IPO has attracted particular attention: whether the company priced its shares too cheaply.
That decision may have cost SpaceX billions of dollars in potential proceeds.
The bigger question is whether it was actually a mistake—or a calculated trade-off that only looks disastrous in hindsight.
The Deal That Changed Everything
The story begins with SpaceX’s historic initial public offering.
On June 11, 2026, SpaceX priced its IPO at $135 per share. The offering raised approximately $75 billion, making it the largest U.S. IPO on record and valuing the company at about $1.77 trillion at the offering price. Musk retained enormous control of the company.
When trading began, however, investors immediately pushed the stock higher.
SpaceX shares closed their first trading day at approximately $160.95, roughly 19% above the IPO price. The company ended the day with a market value of about $2.1 trillion.
For Musk, the consequences were extraordinary.
Because so much of his wealth was tied to SpaceX and Tesla, the increase in SpaceX’s market value dramatically increased his estimated fortune.
For a brief period, he crossed a threshold no individual had reached before.
He became the world’s first trillionaire.
It seemed like the perfect ending to one of the most successful stock-market debuts in history.
But the celebrations did not last.