After vying for months with Jeff Bezos for the title of world’s richest man and topping the Amazon CEO as recently as last week, Musk is now firmly in the No. 2 spot and $20 billion behind Bezos.
It follows a rapid selloff in the tech sector, with Tesla shares hit harder than most and falling nearly a third from their all-time peak in January.
It comes after Tesla shares soared more than 700 percent in 2020, triggering billions in additional compensation for Musk per the terms of his stock-based payment package.
Analysts have long warned of a bubble in the tech sector, fueled in part by an influx of cash from small investors, with Tesla shares singled out as potentially overvalued.
Tech shares soared more than the rest of the market for much of the pandemic, as well as in the years preceding it.
But on Friday, Tesla was the heaviest weight dragging on the S&P 500. The stock fell 3.8 percent and is now down 15.3 percent so far this year.
The electric carmaker faced headwinds for its Model 3 line in Fremont, California, which was forced to shut down for two weeks, reportedly due to a shortage in crucial computer chips.
Yet Wedbush analyst Dan Ives remains optimistic, predicting in a note obtained by DailyMail.com that Tesla will hit a market capitalization of $1 trillion this year.
That would represent a 74 percent increase from current share prices — but Ives believes the growth opportunities for Tesla in China support his view.
‘We believe China could see eye popping demand into 2021 and 2022 across the board with Tesla’s flagship Giga 3 footprint a major competitive advantage,’ wrote Ives.
Throughout 2020, Tesla ramped up production in China and in December began selling its locally made Model Y sport utility vehicle there at a price analysts say will disrupt the conventional premium car market. But the company faces growing competition by local challengers, including Nio Inc and Xpeng Inc.
Meanwhile, Musk on Saturday promised that Tesla would likely confirm a delivery date for its highly touted Cybertruck sometime in the second quarter.
‘Update probably in Q2. Cybertruck will be built at Giga Texas, so focus right now is on getting that beast built,’ he told a fan on Twitter.
