Updated 23 October 2026. Forbes’ real-time profile puts Elon Musk’s net worth at $909.8 billion on Friday 23 October, down $79.2 billion or 8.01 percent since 5 p.m. ET on the prior trading day, after SpaceX (SPCX) fell 9.14 percent to $144.75 and Tesla (TSLA) fell 3.08 percent to $374.58 on Thursday (Forbes, StockAnalysis). It is the largest one-day drop in the Forbes figure since SpaceX’s first results in August, and it undoes Wednesday’s $64 billion gain with room to spare. Both stocks are steadier before Friday’s open: SpaceX $147.61, up 1.98 percent, and Tesla $374.15, down 0.11 percent, at 09:07 ET, after Bloomberg reported that SpaceX is negotiating for about 80,000 US cell sites with Crown Castle and American Tower. Verdict: at the premarket prices the same Forbes share counts are worth about $924 billion, so Friday opens roughly $14 billion above the headline but $76 billion short of the trillion. Reference levels into the close: $891 billion below, $994 billion above.
Key facts
- Forbes, 23 October: $909.8 billion, down $79.2 billion (8.01 percent) since 5 p.m. ET of the prior trading day, rank number 1. Forbes counts about 38 percent of SpaceX including options and nearly 11 percent of Tesla, excluding the unvested 2018 award (Forbes profile). An intraday Forbes reading reported by IBTimes had him at $917.6 billion at 3 p.m. ET on Thursday, down $74 billion, the largest loss among the six richest people that day.
- Thursday closes: SPCX $144.75, down $14.56 or 9.14 percent from $159.31, range $143.21-$154.26, market cap $1.97 trillion, 52-week range $104.83-$225.64; TSLA $374.58, down $11.89 or 3.08 percent from $386.47, market cap $1.48 trillion (StockAnalysis). The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.6 percent to 26,009 and the S&P 500 1.2 percent to 7,663 (Motley Fool).
- Friday premarket at 09:07 ET: SPCX $147.61, up $2.86 or 1.98 percent; TSLA $374.15, down $0.43 or 0.11 percent (StockAnalysis). Nasdaq 100 futures were down about 0.3 percent, S&P 500 futures 0.4 percent and Dow futures 0.8 percent at 09:00 ET (Yahoo Finance).
- The arithmetic: the Forbes holdings file used on our 20 October page carries 4,766,475,230 SpaceX shares, 350,000,000 options struck at $8.40, 395,620,252 Tesla shares and $23.966 billion of private assets. At Thursday’s closes those are $689.9 billion, $47.7 billion, $148.2 billion and $24.0 billion, which sum to $909.8 billion and reproduce the Forbes headline to the decimal. At the 09:07 ET premarket prices they sum to about $924.3 billion. FinanceFeeds calculation.
- Why SpaceX fell: Reuters reported on Thursday that some people involved in the Tesla merger talks worry Musk’s public endorsement could bring unwanted shareholder scrutiny and delay the process by several weeks, and that the talks are preliminary with no terms set; a SpaceX filing said no determination had been made and any deal would need Musk’s approval as controlling shareholder (Reuters via US News, Motley Fool). About 911.5 million insider shares became available for sale as the post-IPO lock-up eased (Motley Fool). Q3 capex was $19.6 billion against $6.9 billion a year earlier and management guided Q4 capex to $35-$40 billion (Motley Fool, Forbes).
- Why Tesla fell: day two of the Q3 reaction. Non-GAAP EPS was $0.48 against $0.45 expected on revenue of $28.05 billion, but net income fell 29 percent, 2026 capex was cut by about $5 billion to roughly $20 billion, and unsupervised FSD, Robotaxi revenue and Optimus volume moved into 2027-2028 (CNBC, Yahoo Finance). Thursday’s notes: Goldman Sachs Neutral $360, CLSA upgraded to Hold with $400, Piper Sandler to $475 from $450 (Benzinga, 24/7 Wall St). Covered in our Tesla results page.
- Friday’s SpaceX story: Bloomberg reported SpaceX is in active discussions to secure access to about 80,000 US cell sites for a nationwide wireless network, naming Crown Castle and American Tower; Crown Castle rose 7.5 percent and American Tower 3.3 percent premarket while AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile fell (Investing.com, Yahoo Finance). JPMorgan’s Doug Anmuth wrote that SpaceX is not considering raising equity and has debt-side options; Bernstein’s Laurent Yoon called an 80,000-site commitment “a point of no return” (Yahoo Finance).
- Bloomberg’s index: Bloomberg marks at the New York close and had Musk at $921 billion at Tuesday’s close and about $1.01 trillion intraday on Wednesday (Benzinga, KuCoin). Its Thursday close figure had not been reported at the time of writing; on Bloomberg’s stake estimates a 9 percent SpaceX drop is worth a similar $70-$80 billion.
- Sensitivity: at the premarket prices a 1 percent SpaceX move is worth about $7.6 billion to Musk, including the options, and a 1 percent Tesla move about $1.5 billion. SpaceX is about 81 percent of the total. FinanceFeeds calculation.
Wednesday’s trillion lasted one session
On Wednesday Bloomberg had Musk back above $1 trillion intraday and Forbes closed him at $989 billion, as Thursday’s page recorded. Thursday took $79.2 billion of that away on the Forbes basis, and almost all of it came from one stock. SpaceX’s 9.14 percent fall cost the SpaceX shares and options together about $74 billion; Tesla’s 3.08 percent fall cost about $4.7 billion. The number is sensitive to SpaceX in a way it has never been to Tesla, because Forbes counts about 38 percent of a $1.97 trillion company against nearly 11 percent of a $1.48 trillion one.
What moved SpaceX was not its own quarter, which our desk covered on Wednesday: $14.6 billion of revenue, $4.4 billion of net income and a Q1 2027 guide far above consensus. It was three things that arrived after the rally. Reuters reported that people inside the Tesla talks worry Musk’s “good idea” endorsement invites scrutiny and delay, and SpaceX’s own filing said its special committee had made no determination. Roughly 911.5 million insider shares became saleable. And the capex line, $19.6 billion in Q3 and $35-$40 billion guided for Q4, landed on the same afternoon that Meta’s capex guide and a new class of non-voting Meta stock sent the Nasdaq down 2.6 percent and CoreWeave down 10 percent. A stock that had risen 10 percent on Wednesday was the obvious place to take profit.
What the premarket does to the number
Run the Forbes counts at the 09:07 ET quotes and the fortune is about $924 billion: SpaceX shares $703.6 billion, options $48.7 billion, Tesla $148.0 billion and the private line $24.0 billion. That is $14 billion above the Forbes headline, because SpaceX is bid 2 percent higher on the cell-tower report, and $76 billion below a round trillion. For the Forbes figure to print $1 trillion at Friday’s close with Tesla unchanged from premarket, SpaceX needs about $162.40, which is $15 above Thursday’s close and roughly Wednesday’s intraday high. The trillion is a SpaceX question, and Friday’s SpaceX question is whether the market reads an 80,000-site wireless build as a $63 billion backlog getting bigger or as another $35-$40 billion quarter of capex getting bigger. The tower stocks and the carriers are already voting: Crown Castle up 7.5 percent, Verizon and AT&T down.
Elon Musk net worth into Friday’s close: bull, base and bear
| Scenario | Net worth (Forbes basis) | What has to happen | Anchor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bear | $891 billion | SpaceX loses the premarket bounce and revisits Thursday’s low as the unlock supply meets a weak Nasdaq; Tesla’s post-earnings selling extends. | SPCX at $143.21, Thursday’s intraday low, and TSLA at $347, the downside level on our Tesla results page; the Forbes counts give $891.0 billion. About 2 percent below the $909.8 billion headline. |
| Base | $915-$935 billion | The premarket prices hold within a percent either way and the headline stays below $1 trillion on both indexes. | The 09:07 ET premarket mark of $924.3 billion plus or minus a 1 percent move in SpaceX (Forbes counts at StockAnalysis prices). |
| Bull | $994 billion | SpaceX retakes Wednesday’s close on the cell-site story and Tesla buyers treat the margin and cash beat as the turn. | SPCX at $159.31, Wednesday’s close, and TSLA at $400, the CLSA target and the upside level on our Tesla page; the Forbes counts give $994.4 billion. |
The bear case sits below the current Forbes figure and below the premarket mark. These are reference levels computed from the verified StockAnalysis quotes and the Forbes share counts, not forecasts, and they are FinanceFeeds’ arithmetic rather than either index’s published number.
What to watch on Friday
- SpaceX at $162.40: the level at which the Forbes counts cross $1 trillion with Tesla at its premarket price.
- SpaceX at $143.21: Thursday’s low; a break puts the unlock supply in charge and opens the bear level.
- Tesla at $373.71: Tuesday’s close, the pre-results level; the stock closed $0.87 above it on Thursday and is $0.44 above it premarket.
- Bloomberg’s Thursday close: the index marks at the New York close, so its official figure for 22 October lands with Friday’s update and should show a similar drop.
- The merger committees: SpaceX’s filing says any combination needs Musk’s approval as controlling shareholder; any statement on timing after the Reuters report changes which stake the market values.
Quick take: Forbes shows Elon Musk at $909.8 billion after SpaceX fell 9.14 percent and Tesla 3.08 percent on Thursday, a $79.2 billion one-day loss that erased Wednesday’s gain. SpaceX is 2 percent higher premarket on Bloomberg’s report of talks for 80,000 US cell sites, which puts the same share counts at about $924 billion. Expect $915-$935 billion on the Forbes basis. SpaceX back to $143.21 and Tesla at $347 opens $891 billion. SpaceX at $159.31 and Tesla at $400 opens $994 billion.
FAQ
What is Elon Musk’s net worth today?
Forbes’ real-time profile shows $909.8 billion on 23 October 2026, down $79.2 billion or 8.01 percent since 5 p.m. ET on the prior trading day. At Friday’s premarket prices the same share counts are worth about $924 billion (Forbes, StockAnalysis, FinanceFeeds calculation).
Is Elon Musk still a trillionaire?
Not on Forbes, at $909.8 billion. Bloomberg’s index had him above $1 trillion intraday on Wednesday but marks at the close, and Thursday’s 9 percent SpaceX fall is worth a similar $70-$80 billion on its basis, so he is below $1 trillion on both measures going into Friday.
How much did Elon Musk lose on 22 October?
$79.2 billion on the Forbes close-to-close basis, from $989 billion to $909.8 billion. An intraday Forbes reading at 3 p.m. ET showed $917.6 billion, a $74 billion loss, per IBTimes. About $74 billion of the final figure came from SpaceX and about $4.7 billion from Tesla (FinanceFeeds calculation).
Why did SpaceX stock fall 9 percent?
Profit-taking after Wednesday’s 10 percent results-day jump, a Reuters report that insiders fear Musk’s merger comments will bring scrutiny and delay, about 911.5 million insider shares becoming saleable, and Q4 capex guidance of $35-$40 billion on a day the Nasdaq fell 2.6 percent on AI financing worries (Motley Fool, Reuters, Yahoo Finance).
Why is SpaceX up in Friday’s premarket?
Bloomberg reported that SpaceX is in active talks with Crown Castle and American Tower for access to about 80,000 US cell sites for a nationwide wireless network. SpaceX was $147.61, up 1.98 percent, at 09:07 ET (Investing.com, StockAnalysis).
How much of Musk’s fortune is SpaceX?
About 81 percent. Forbes counts about 38 percent of SpaceX including options; at Thursday’s close that is roughly $738 billion of the $909.8 billion, with Tesla about $148 billion and private assets about $24 billion (Forbes, FinanceFeeds calculation).
How much does a 1 percent move in SpaceX change his net worth?
About $7.6 billion at the premarket price, including the options. A 1 percent move in Tesla is about $1.5 billion (FinanceFeeds calculation from the Forbes share counts).
Sources: Forbes real-time profile (net worth, change, stake descriptions, 23 October 2026); StockAnalysis (SPCX and TSLA closes, premarket quotes at 09:07 ET, market caps, 52-week ranges, 22-23 October); IBTimes (Forbes intraday reading at 3 p.m. ET, 22 October); Motley Fool (SpaceX day’s range, insider share unlock, Q3 and Q4 capex, index closes, 22 October); Reuters via US News (SpaceX filing and merger-talk sources, 22 October); Investing.com and Yahoo Finance (Bloomberg cell-site report, Crown Castle and American Tower moves, JPMorgan and Bernstein comments, futures at 09:00 ET, 23 October); CNBC, Yahoo Finance, Benzinga and 24/7 Wall St (Tesla Q3 figures and analyst notes, 22 October); Benzinga and KuCoin (Bloomberg Billionaires Index figures, 21 October); SEC Schedule 13G and Forbes holdings file via our 20 October page (share counts).
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Stock prices are volatile. Do your own research and consult a licensed financial adviser before making investment decisions.
