Elon Musk, monikered as world's first trillionaire, lost his crown jewel lately as his wealth dropped below $1 trillion mark on Tuesday even as shares of SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corp) managed to managed to halt its free-fall after the euphoria around largest ever IPO settled globally.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index, Elon Musk remained the richest man on the planet with a combined wealth of $957 billion, losing more $118 billion in the previous trading session. This single day erosion is more than Gautam Adani's entire wealth, who is 17th richest man with $117 billion net worth. Despite this steep fall, Musk has managed to make $338 billion in 2026.

To recall, shares of SpaceX settled at $156.11 apiece, up nearly a per cent, with a total market capitalization of $2.05 trillion. The stock, which made its much-awaited Nasdaq debut on June 12, is down nearly 31 per cent from its peak at $225.64, hit earlier this month. However, it is still above its IPO price of $135 and listing price of $150 apiece.

He lost the trillionaire title on Tuesday as shares of Tesla, his other listed entity tumbled 5.8 per cent to $381.61, with its valuations slipping below $1.2 trillion. The stock has lost nearly 12 per cent in the last one month, while it has lost 21 per cent in the last six months. It is down nearly 25 per cent from its 52-week high at $498.82.

To recall, shares of Tesla surged nearly 67 per cent in the first trading session, after a record breaking IPO. Musk derives a hefty share of his wealth from SpaceX, where he owns nearly 38 per cent stake, while the technocrat owns 11 per cent stake in Testa with investments in several other ventures.

With a blockbuster debut of SpaceX, Musk became world's first ever trillionaire earlier this month with retail investors eager to get in on the company's sci-fi-like promises. However, analysts' questions on loss making status and sky-high valuations sparked a carnage in the stock. Besides that, tech stocks have been hit in recent days amid fears of an AI bubble and an interest rate hike.

"Space tech is interesting precisely because it's stopped being just rockets but it's connectivity, defence, satellite data, and increasingly the compute and AI layer sitting right next to it. For Indian investors, a lot of this is reachable now through US-listed names and thematic ETFs in a way it just wasn't a few years ago, said Viram Shah, Founder & CEO at Vested Finance.

"A great company and a great stock at today's price aren't the same thing. The way most people square it is with position sizing and time horizon: keep the speculative, high-conviction stuff small enough that you can actually hold it through the swings, and let a diversified core do the heavy lifting. Innovation tends to reward patience more than precision timing," he adds.