In today’s ever-shifting world, fortunes can rise and fall in the blink of an eye.

How often have you seen people rise like a rocket, only to come crashing back to earth, undone by a fatal flaw? Through the fall, they learn a hard but valuable lesson.

In March 2021, in just a few days, fund manager Bill Hwang lost $39 billion, including $20 billion of his own money, when a concentrated bet he made turned against him. In terms of speed, that was one of the fastest wealth implosions in modern financial history.

Fast forward to March 2025—within just a few months, Elon Musk’s net worth has plummeted by approximately $100 billion, as Tesla’s stock has tumbled 50%, dropping from its December 2024 peak of $488 to around $240 at the time of writing.

Musk’s wealth is heavily tied up in Tesla. He reportedly owns 12.8% of the company. Tesla’s current market capitalization is around $800 billion.

At a time when global EV sales are growing at 20% or more, Tesla’s worldwide sales are contracting at a staggering annualized rate of 30–50%. How did this sorry state come about?

There is no other company out there whose brand is so closely entwined with its founder as Musk. The man is Tesla and vice versa.

Quick. When you think of Musk, what comes to mind? A Nazi salute? A grinning man wielding a chainsaw? What does the latter remind you of? If you say the horror movie The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, you’re right.

That movie stands out for its brutality, macabre elements, and unrelenting psychological terror that lingers long after the credits roll.

At an unconscious level, is he sabotaging himself by wielding a chainsaw and throwing his weight around via the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)? In the end, DOGE may have saved the U.S government tens of billions of dollars—peanuts in the overall U.S government budget, but it tarnishes the brand, alienates customers, and shaves a big chunk off his wealth.

Thus, it is no surprise that the media, including social media, is flooded with stories of Tesla owners who feel uneasy about being seen in their vehicles. Others, meanwhile, are eager to part with the cars they already own.

The Tesla brand is now severely damaged—if not outright toxic. Over the next twelve months, as sales continue to decline, Musk’s fortune will follow suit.

What’s next for this Shakespearean figure in the drama now playing out? Will he be thrown under the bus by his most powerful ally—He Who Shall Not Be Named? Isolated from all but fawning acolytes? Or stricken by a mysterious illness that forces him to spend time in isolation to reflect on his life? Time will tell.

At some point, as his net worth keeps shrinking, he’ll bump up against an uncomfortable truth: I am the one responsible for the destruction of my own wealth—and reputation.

By dint of hard work and ingenuity, he built Tesla from nothing into a significant global brand. For reasons buried deep in his soul, he was compelled to destroy it—through reckless actions—setting himself up for the inevitable crash back to earth.

From a spiritual perspective, each one of us is born with a life plan. Whether we believe it or not, our soul’s blueprint encodes the lessons, experiences, and growth we are meant to undergo in this life. So perhaps losing his wealth was always meant to be part of the journey.

(Hai Van Le is the author of Into the Unknown, a work of fiction about a geologist held hostage by Islamic fundamentalists in Mali. Check out the reviews at https://www.haivanle.com/raves/)