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Musk's bad week: Tesla suffers worst slump since 2022, SpaceX drops ahead of Starship test flight

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Why This Matters

This week highlights the volatility and risks faced by high-profile tech companies like Tesla and SpaceX, emphasizing the importance of financial stability and strategic planning amid ambitious projects. For consumers and investors, it signals potential challenges in the electric vehicle and space exploration sectors, affecting future innovations and market confidence.

Key Takeaways

SpaceX founder Elon Musk addresses members of the media during a press conference announcing new developments of the Crew Dragon reusable spacecraft, at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California, Oct. 10, 2019.

It was a rough week for Elon Musk.

Tesla shares plunged 18% during the week to close at $313.03 on Friday, their worst weekly slump since 2022. And SpaceX continued its downward slide, dropping 7.2% over five days to close at $115.07 Friday, its lowest since the company's record IPO last month.

The declines in both stocks wiped away about $130 billion of Musk's wealth, weeks after he'd become the world's first trillionaire. In a post on X on Friday, Musk wrote, "(Former) trillionaire."

Tesla's slump was spurred by weaker-than-expected earnings when the electric vehicle maker reported second-quarter results late Wednesday. The company turned cash flow negative due to a surge in spending on futuristic projects like robotaxis, humanoid robots and a giant chip fab.

"We expect this to pressure free cash flow and delay earnings growth, without providing any near-term shareholder return," wrote analysts at Argus Research, which has a hold rating on the stock, in a report on Friday. "We believe it will be nearly impossible for Tesla to generate any consistency in profit growth in the near-term."

Tesla's stock is now down 30% for the year, by far the worst performer among tech's megacaps.