Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) unit sales dropped 1.1% from 1,189,226. It was the first annual falloff in Tesla’s history. Tesla’s stock pulled back as much as 7% on the news, taking Elon Musk’s net worth down $17.7 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index. Neither figure was huge compared to their total valuations. Musk is still worth $415 billion, well ahead of number two Jeff Bezos’s net worth of $239 billion. Tesla remains one of the world’s most valuable companies, with a market cap of $1.21 trillion.

Tesla’s numbers reflect low demand for electric vehicles (EVs) in the United States. That is happening at Ford, GM, and most other large legacy car companies too. Americans still worry about the number of charging stations, charging time, and high prices for new EVs. Tesla continues to do well in China, which is the world’s largest EV market in the world by far. However, Tesla has stiff competition there as well.

Tesla’s market cap, and Musk’s wealth, continues to ride on the fact that many investors view the company as an artificial intelligence (AI) play. Tesla’s self-driving function has improved over the years. Musk says that his vehicles will soon become completely autonomous and will not need drivers at all.

Elon’s Companies

Musk’s net worth is based primarily on his ownership of three companies. The first is Tesla, the share price of which is up 53% in the past year. He owns 20.5% of the company.

SpaceX virtually controls the U.S. rocket business and is the leader in the industry worldwide. It has established itself as the preeminent rocket launch provider, lofting satellites, cargo, and people to space for NASA, the Pentagon, and commercial partners. It is building out a large network of Starlink satellites providing internet service.

Musk owns 42% of SpaceX and has 79% of the company’s voting shares. He can make decisions about SpaceX without challenge. SpaceX was recently valued at $350 billion.

Among Musk’s other holdings, the most valuable may eventually be xAI, a major rival to OpenAI in the race to control the future of AI. xAI recently raised $6 billion, which puts its value at between $40 billion and $50 billion. Musk owns over half of xAI. The valuation of OpenAI recently hit $157 billion.

Musk owns parts of several other companies, including social media platform X and implantable brain-computer interface operation Neuralink.

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