Topline
Even the world’s richest man has bad days, as Elon Musk faced a litany of headaches to start the week Monday—including the crash of his social media site, an 11-figure drop in his net worth as his primary venture Tesla faced brutal losses, while an awkward TV interview only gave critics more fodder.
Timeline
March 10, 8:54 a.m. EDTMusk’s Monday gets off to an immediate bad start as users on his X platform begin to report widespread outages, with Musk later attributing the crash to a “massive cyberattack” from “a large, coordinated group and/or a country” and noting the problem emanated from “IP addresses originating in the Ukraine area” (cybersecurity expert Cliff Steinhauer told Forbes it was likely too early to determine the root of the issue).
March 10, 9:42 a.m.Musk shockingly calls veteran and retired astronaut Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., a “traitor” after Kelly posted support for Ukraine following a visit to the country, leading a slew of Democrats—including Kelly’s wife Gabby Giffords—and even one House Republican, Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., to criticize him, with Bacon telling CNN Musk’s accusation was “not right” and “reflects bad on the White House” (on Musk’s own platform, his “traitor” comment received only 15,000 Likes by Tuesday morning compared to over 230,000 likes for Kelly’s response).
March 10, 3:45 p.m.Left-leaning watchdog organization Media Matters, a longtime Musk target, sues X for bringing lawsuits against it in foreign countries as part of “a vendetta-driven campaign of libel tourism,” the suit alleged.
March 10, 4 p.m.Tesla, the primary source of Musk’s wealth, ends Monday trading down more than 15%, its worst daily loss since September, as the electric vehicle maker became the most notable loser of the Wall Street losses tied to shaky investor sentiment amid President Donald Trump’s tariffs—Tesla stock closed more than 10% lower than it did prior to Trump’s election, wiping out what was once a more than 90% rally, and shares declined over 50% in less than three months.
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March 10, 4:30 p.m.Musk sits down with Fox Business’ “Kudlow” and does little to assuage Tesla investor angst, saying—in a halting way that went viral on social media— that he’s juggling his Department of Government Efficiency role with his positions at Tesla and his other companies “with great difficulty” and invokes Monty Python, adding to “always look on the bright side of life.”
March 10, 4:56 p.m.Responding to a thread on Monday being the seventh-worst day in Tesla stock’s 15-year history, Musk writes, “It will be fine long-term.”
March 10, 10:13 p.m.A federal judge rules against DOGE for operating with “unprecedented power” and “unusual secrecy,” ordering Musk’s agency to comply with public record requests and increase its transparency.
March 10, 10:18 p.m.Musk replies the “antibody reaction is strong” to a post suggesting Musk “will be blamed for everything,” including the “incoming recession.”
March 11, 12:14 a.m.Musk’s boss Trump chimes in to support Musk after his bad Monday, writing on his Truth Social site he will buy a Tesla “as a show of confidence and support for Elon Musk, a truly great American.”
March 11, 8:22 a.m.Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, long one of the most outspoken voices on Wall Street in Musk’s and Tesla’s corner, publishes a critical note on Musk, saying patience is “wearing very thin” and Musk “needs to step up as Tesla CEO at this critical juncture” as there’s been “little to no sign of Musk” at any Tesla facility since Trump took office.
Big Number
$22.8 billion. That’s how much Musk lost off his net worth during Tesla’s Monday nosedive, according to our estimates. That’s more than the entire $22.7 billion fortune held by media mogul Rupert Murdoch.
Forbes Valuation
Musk’s $325 billion net worth still makes him by far the wealthiest person in the world with a $110 billion lead over the next richest man, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos ($215 billion net worth).
Crucial Quote
“The Musk DOGE distractions” have “created a black cloud over Tesla’s stock” according to Ives.
Tesla Stock Bounces Back Some Tuesday
Shares of Tesla gained as much as 6% Tuesday morning, bouncing off of their lowest close since October, before settling into a 1% advance by 11 a.m. EDT, as the market broadly dropped on Trump’s decision to increase tariffs on Canadian aluminum and steel imports to 50%. Tesla’s 2025 losses are staggering, as its nearly 45% year-to-date decline makes it the worst-performing company listed on the S&P 500, according to FactSet data.
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