Starship՛s explosion cost Elon Musk a lot: He lost $12.6 billion in one day

The famous entrepreneur and billionaire Elon Musk lost 12.6 billion dollars in one day, more than 7% of his wealth. This was helped by the explosion of the SpaceX Starship during the first test launch yesterday, as well as the publication of the financial results of the electric car manufacturer Tesla.

Currently, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index (BBI), Musk's fortune is estimated at 164 billion dollars, and according to this indicator, he is the second in the list of billionaires. The loss of 12.6 billion is considered the biggest daily loss in the world this year.

The SpaceX Starship was successfully launched yesterday from the Starbase in Texas during the second attempt. However, in mid-air, the spacecraft did not separate from the first stage, the Super Heavy rocket, and both exploded.

Later it turned out that the explosion was not an accident: specialists of the mission control center had ordered the self-destruction of the rocket and the spacecraft, because during the flight, due to a problem with the engines, the rocket deviated from the trajectory and began to spiral.

The specialists of the company do not consider it a failure: the rocket flew successfully, and everything that happened next will give scientists valuable data to improve the system and prepare it for the next launch.

As for Tesla, the company released its quarterly report, according to which net profit attributable to shareholders decreased by 24% year-on-year. Following the publication of the quarterly report, the shares of the company fell by 9.75% on Thursday.

Musk's stake in Tesla, including stock and options, make up the bulk of his fortune, though SpaceX has come to play a more important role as the company's market value has soared earlier.