Elon Musk lost $768 million after Cybertruck's launch failed
Tesla just unveiled a futuristic 'Cybertruck' to barge into the category of electric pick-up trucks. The vehicle makes a tempting deal at $40,000, but during the unveiling, it ran into a rather unexpected (and shocking) hiccup. Now, in the wake of that failure, CEO Elon Musk's net worth has plummeted by as much as $768 million in a single day. Here's all about it.
Musk demonstrated the rugged capabilities of Tesla Cybertruck
During the launch, held in LA, Musk boasted about the wide-ranging capabilities of the Cybertruck, starting from its ability to outpace a Porsche-911'>Porsche 911 to besting Ford F-150 in a tug of war and bearing the impact of a 9mm handgun. He also demonstrated the vehicle's strength by getting its doors, made from the same ultra-hard alloy of Starship, battered with a real sledgehammer.
However, its armored-glass windows failed to impress
When the sledgehammer beating had minimal impact on the Cybertruck, Musk called Tesla's chief designer Franz von Holzhausen to showcase the strength of the vehicle's 'shatterproof' armored-glass windows. Holzhausen then launched a small metal ball at the window, which, much to Musk and everyone's surprise, immediately broke the glass. "Oh my f****** god," the billionaire exclaimed after the test failed.
Even the second attempt broke the glass
After smashing the glass, Holzhausen took another attempt, but the result was the same this time too. The windows failed to have the desired effect, prompting Musk to say, "It didn't go through, so that's a plus ...[there is] room for improvement."
Seven years of hype ended in disappointment
Musk had expressed the desire to build a Tesla super-truck "with crazy torque, dynamic air suspension" nearly seven years ago. However, all that hype and years of teasing came crashing down with a small metal ball. And while Musk said the window didn't shatter before, the audience wasn't clearly impressed by the failure that happened live on the stage.
How Musk tried justifying the windows' strength
"We threw wrenches, we threw everything, we even literally threw a kitchen sink at the glass, and it didn't break. For a little weird reason it broke now, I don't know why," Musk said on the stage. He also shared a video proving the same.
Either way, his net worth dipped after the fail
The botched experiment on the stage proved expensive as Tesla's stock plunged 6% a day after the launch, dipping Musk's net worth by a whopping $768 million. Still, even after this fall, he continues to dominate as the 41st richest person in the world with a total net worth of $23.6 billion. The first on the list is Microsoft's co-founder Bill Gates.
