London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Dec 07, 2025

Crypto bites back? Elon Musk slips to No. 3 in world’s richest ranking after sending bitcoin nosediving

Crypto bites back? Elon Musk slips to No. 3 in world’s richest ranking after sending bitcoin nosediving

Tesla founder Elon Musk has been pushed down to third place in world’s richest ranking after shares in the carmaker tumbled. The plunge came after the billionaire sent the bitcoin market into panic with a single tweet.
Musk, who as recently as March climbed to the coveted top spot in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index before being edged out by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, lost his runner-up position to Bernard Arnaut, chairman of world’s largest luxury goods conglomerate LVMH on Monday, the Bloomberg reported.

The drop in Musk’s fortune, which is now estimated at $160.6 billion, some 24% lower since January, is believed to be driven by the lukewarm performance of Tesla’s stock, which fell by 2.1 percent on Monday to $576.83 – a far cry from the all-time high of $883.09 in January.

While Tesla shares are noted for taking a deep plunge on Mondays only to recover some of their value closer to the end of the week, it may well be that Musk’s bitcoin-themed Twitter posts finally caught up with him.

As recently as Sunday, Musk threw the world’s largest crypto into freefall after investors interpreted his single-word tweet as an indication that he might have sold or considered selling Tesla’s cryptocurrency stock. Musk tweeted “indeed” in response to a user who said that “bitcoiners are going to slap themselves next quarter when they find out Tesla dumped the rest of their #bitcoin holdings,” and that “with the amount of hate @elonmusk is getting, I wouldn’t blame him.”

The tweet sent ripples across the cryptocurrency world, with bitcoin careening to as low as $42,441 at one point in its biggest drop in three months.

While it regained some strength after Musk took to Twitter to clarify that Tesla had not sold any bitcoin, it didn’t quite bounce back and is trading at about $45,000 as of Monday evening.

Last week, Musk, who has been a proponent of cryptocurrencies, dealt another serious blow to the world’s leading crypto by announcing that Tesla would no longer accept payment for its vehicles in bitcoin, citing environmental concerns related to the use of fossil fuels in its mining. In February, Musk announced that the carmaker had bought $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin, sending the price of the token soaring.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Drugs and Assassinations: The Connection Between the Italian Mafia and Football Ultras
Hollywood megadeal: Netflix acquires Warner Bros. Discovery for 83 billion dollars
The Disregard for a Europe ‘in Danger of Erasure,’ the Shift Toward Russia: Trump’s Strategic Policy Document
Two and a Half Weeks After the Major Outage: A Cloudflare Malfunction Brings Down Multiple Sites
UK data-regulator demands urgent clarity on racial bias in police facial-recognition systems
Labour Uses Biscuits to Explain UK Debt — MPs Lean Into Social Media to Reach New Audiences
German President Lays Wreath at Coventry as UK-Germany Reaffirm Unity Against Russia’s Threat
UK Inquiry Finds Putin ‘Morally Responsible’ for 2018 Novichok Death — London Imposes Broad Sanctions on GRU
India backs down on plan to mandate government “Sanchar Saathi” app on all smartphones
King Charles Welcomes German President Steinmeier to UK in First State Visit by Berlin in 27 Years
UK Plans Major Cutback to Jury Trials as Crown Court Backlog Nears 80,000
UK Government to Significantly Limit Jury Trials in England and Wales
U.S. and U.K. Seal Drug-Pricing Deal: Britain Agrees to Pay More, U.S. Lifts Tariffs
UK Postpones Decision Yet Again on China’s Proposed Mega-Embassy in London
Head of UK Budget Watchdog Resigns After Premature Leak of Reeves’ Budget Report
Car-sharing giant Zipcar to exit UK market by end of 2025
Reports of Widespread Drone Deployment Raise Privacy and Security Questions in the UK
UK Signals Security Concerns Over China While Pursuing Stronger Trade Links
Google warns of AI “irrationality” just as Gemini 3 launch rattles markets
Top Consultancies Freeze Starting Salaries as AI Threatens ‘Pyramid’ Model
Macron Says Washington Pressuring EU to Delay Enforcement of Digital-Regulation Probes Against Meta, TikTok and X
UK’s DragonFire Laser Downs High-Speed Drones as £316m Deal Speeds Naval Deployment
UK Chancellor Rejects Claims She Misled Public on Fiscal Outlook Ahead of Budget
Starmer Defends Autumn Budget as Finance Chief Faces Accusations of Misleading Public Finances
EU Firms Struggle with 3,000-Hour Paperwork Load — While Automakers Fear De Facto 2030 Petrol Car Ban
White House launches ‘Hall of Shame’ site to publicly condemn media outlets for alleged bias
UK Budget’s New EV Mileage Tax Undercuts Case for Plug-In Hybrids
UK Government Launches National Inquiry into ‘Grooming Gangs’ After US Warning and Rising Public Outcry
Taylor Swift Extends U.K. Chart Reign as ‘The Fate of Ophelia’ Hits Six Weeks at No. 1
250 Still Missing in the Massive Fire, 94 Killed. One Day After the Disaster: Survivor Rescued on the 16th Floor
Trump: National Guard Soldier Who Was Shot in Washington Has Died; Second Soldier Fighting for His Life
UK Chancellor Reeves Defends Tax Rises as Essential to Reduce Child Poverty and Stabilise Public Finances
No Evidence Found for Claim That UK Schools Are Shifting to Teaching American English
European Powers Urge Israel to Halt West Bank Settler Violence Amid Surge in Attacks
"I Would Have Given Her a Kidney": She Lent Bezos’s Ex-Wife $1,000 — and Received Millions in Return
European States Approve First-ever Military-Grade Surveillance Network via ESA
UK to Slash Key Pension Tax Perk, Targeting High Earners Under New Budget
UK Government Announces £150 Annual Cut to Household Energy Bills Through Levy Reforms
UK Court Hears Challenge to Ban on Palestine Action as Critics Decry Heavy-Handed Measures
Investors Rush Into UK Gilts and Sterling After Budget Eases Fiscal Concerns
UK to Raise Online Betting Taxes by £1.1 Billion Under New Budget — Firms Warn of Fallout
Lamine Yamal? The ‘Heir to Messi’ Lost to Barcelona — and the Kingdom Is in a Frenzy
Warner Music Group Drops Suit Against Suno, Launches Licensed AI-Music Deal
HP to Cut up to 6,000 Jobs Globally as It Ramps Up AI Integration
MediaWorld Sold iPad Air for €15 — Then Asked Customers to Return Them or Pay More
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer Promises ‘Full-Time’ Education for All Children as School Attendance Slips
UK Extends Sugar Tax to Sweetened Milkshakes and Lattes in 2028 Health Push
UK Government Backs £49 Billion Plan for Heathrow Third Runway and Expansion
UK Gambling Firms Report £1bn Surge in Annual Profits as Pressure Mounts for Higher Betting Taxes
UK Shares Advance Ahead of Budget as Financials and Consumer Staples Lead Gains
×