Elon Musk Loses $45.3bn As SpaceX Shares Slide After Aborted Starship Launch

Elon Musk’s net worth slipped below $800 billion after SpaceX shares fell following an aborted Starship launch, wiping roughly $45.3 billion from his fortune in a single session. SpaceX stock dropped about 4.4% to near $125 on Friday, extending a five-day slide that has trimmed more than 14% from the company’s market value since last Thursday.

The market reaction followed SpaceX’s decision to abort the 13th Starship launch when several engines failed to start during pre-launch procedures. “Hopefully in a few days,” Musk wrote on X when asked about the next attempt, later adding that “the most probable launch timing is early next week.” Investors were particularly sensitive because the planned flight was SpaceX’s first test since its recent initial public offering.

Analysts said the aborted launch undercut optimism that had been built into the share price ahead of the test. “A successful Starship flight could have demonstrated multiple new milestones and been a clear catalyst for the stock,” said Gavin Parsons, an analyst at UBS. Parsons had described the mission as intended to validate booster engine relight capability and updated Starlink deployment routines.

The aborted attempt follows an earlier setback in May when the Super Heavy booster failed to execute a controlled landing after several engines did not reignite. That failure heightened questions about the reliability of the engine restart capability at the core of SpaceX’s heavy-lift strategy, concerns that resurfaced after Friday’s aborted countdown.

The impact on Musk’s personal fortune has been dramatic. From a peak near $1.45 trillion on June 16 — when SpaceX shares reached an all-time high — his estimated wealth has fallen by nearly $700 billion in just over a month. After Friday’s session, his net worth was estimated at about $797.8 billion, down from roughly $813 billion before the IPO earlier this month.

Despite the sharp decline, Musk remains the world’s richest person by a wide margin, far ahead of Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Musk holds about 4.8 billion SpaceX shares plus roughly 350 million stock options, meaning that each percentage point movement in the stock translates into multibillion-dollar swings in his paper wealth.

Market watchers say the coming days will be pivotal. If SpaceX can address the engine-start issue and complete a successful flight, sentiment could reverse quickly; if problems persist, the sell-off may deepen. For now, investors are watching both technical fixes and Musk’s next public updates for signals on when Starship might attempt another launch.