Elon Musk is back in the headlines on multiple fronts this week. Tesla (TSLA) stock closed at $394.76 on July 13, 2026, down 3.19% in a broader tech sell-off. SpaceX (SPCX) shares have fallen roughly 30-38% since their June 12 IPO and are now trading near their $135 offering price. Musk’s personal fortune has slipped to an estimated $879.3 billion, down from a peak of $1.45 trillion just a month earlier, though he remains the world’s richest person by a wide margin.
Quick takeaways:
- Tesla beat Q2 delivery expectations (480,126 vehicles vs. a ~406,024 consensus) but the stock is still sliding into its July 22 earnings report.
- SpaceX joined the Nasdaq-100 on July 7, triggering billions in passive index-fund buying, even as the stock corrects from its post-IPO high.
- A federal jury ruled Musk brought his OpenAI lawsuit too late, though his legal team has signaled plans to appeal — and his public feud with Sam Altman just flared up again over an unrelated Apple lawsuit.
Read on for a full breakdown of what’s driving each headline and what analysts are watching next.
Who Is Elon Musk and What Does He Run?
Elon Musk is the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, and the founder of xAI (which now operates inside SpaceX after a 2026 acquisition), Neuralink, and The Boring Company. He first became a billionaire in 2012, according to Forbes, and his net worth crossed $1 trillion for the first time in history after SpaceX’s Nasdaq debut on June 12, 2026 — a milestone Forbes and CNBC both describe as unprecedented for any individual.
His wealth is concentrated almost entirely in two publicly traded companies now: Tesla’s automotive and energy business, and SpaceX’s rocket, satellite internet (Starlink), and AI (Grok/xAI) operations.
Elon Musk Net Worth Today: A Trillion-Dollar Rollercoaster
Musk’s fortune has moved in enormous swings over the past month, and that volatility is itself one of the biggest financial stories connected to his name right now.
- June 12, 2026: SpaceX priced its IPO at $135 a share, pushing Musk’s net worth to roughly $1.05–$1.14 trillion, per CNBC and Fox Business.
- June 15-16, 2026: SpaceX shares kept climbing, and Musk’s net worth hit an all-time peak of $1.3–$1.45 trillion, according to Forbes.
- July 13, 2026: With SpaceX shares sliding toward their IPO price, Musk’s net worth has dropped to an estimated $879.3 billion — still comfortably ahead of Google co-founder Larry Page (~$290.1 billion) and Sergey Brin (~$267.6 billion), per Forbes.
| Date | Net Worth (Est.) | Key Driver |
|---|---|---|
| June 12, 2026 | ~$1.05T | SpaceX IPO prices at $135/share |
| June 16, 2026 | ~$1.45T (peak) | SpaceX hits all-time high of $225.64 |
| July 13, 2026 | ~$879.3B | SpaceX slides toward IPO price |
Looking further out, Musk also has a Tesla pay package on the table that could eventually be worth up to $1 trillion if he hits performance targets and Tesla’s market valuation reaches $10 trillion — a scenario Forbes and TechRepublic both flag as extremely ambitious relative to Tesla’s current size.
Tesla Stock (TSLA) News and Market Analysis
Historical Price Performance
Tesla shares closed at $394.76 on July 13, 2026, down 3.19% for the day, and have traded in a 52-week range of $297.82 to $498.83, according to MacroTrends and StockAnalysis.com. The stock is up roughly a quarter to a third over the past 12 months, depending on the data source, but it has pulled back from its December 2025 all-time closing high of $489.88.
Fundamental Catalysts and Analyst Reactions
Tesla’s Q2 2026 deliveries came in at 480,126 vehicles, beating the Tesla-compiled consensus of about 406,024 by roughly 18%, and up 25% from 384,122 vehicles a year earlier, per Vantage Markets’ analysis of the delivery report. Production of 451,758 units trailed deliveries, pointing to a drawdown of existing inventory rather than a demand surge alone.
Wall Street has responded with a mix of price-target hikes and caution:
- UBS raised its target to $442 from $364 on July 9, expecting a strong Q2 earnings beat, per CNN.
- Jefferies raised its target to $400 from $375 the same week, while flagging caution on Tesla’s “moonshot” AI ambitions.
- Wedbush’s Dan Ives has one of the highest targets on the Street at $600, and separately described SpaceX as:
“One of the most differentiated assets within the tech market,” says Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities.
JPMorgan has also weighed in on persistent speculation about a possible SpaceX-Tesla tie-up, calling the idea:
“Strategically coherent,” according to JPMorgan analysts, who nonetheless flagged execution “bottlenecks.”
Tesla’s next earnings report lands July 22, 2026, and analysts say automotive margins, Full Self-Driving (FSD) progress, and commentary on Cybercab and the Optimus robot will be the key things to watch.
Key Risks and Volatility Factors
A few developments are weighing on sentiment heading into earnings:
- Robotaxi expansion friction: Tesla launched robotaxi service in Miami on July 3, extending beyond Texas and California, but a proposed New Jersey law that could restrict robotaxis has added regulatory uncertainty, per Fox Business and CNBC coverage.
- AI cost discipline: Tesla told employees it would cap third-party AI spending at $200 per week starting July 6, pushing staff toward its in-house Grok 4.5 model to cut costs, as first reported by The Information and cited by TipRanks.
- Safety headlines: A fatal Tesla Semi crash near Dayton, Nevada on June 28 killed two people; investigators say the cause is undetermined, with early reports pointing to driver fatigue rather than the vehicle’s software.
- Regulatory close-out: The NHTSA closed a four-year investigation into unexpected braking in roughly 695,000 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles without issuing a recall, citing a low demonstrated hazard rate, though it noted this doesn’t rule out an underlying defect.
- Competition: Chinese rival XPeng has publicly signaled it’s ready to compete head-to-head with Tesla, contributing to recent stock pressure, per CNN/TipRanks reporting.
SpaceX Stock (SPCX): Post-IPO Performance
SpaceX’s June 12, 2026 debut was the largest IPO in history, raising an initial $75 billion (later expanded to roughly $85.7 billion with additional share sales), surpassing Saudi Aramco’s $29 billion IPO in 2019, according to Fox Business.
Key SPCX data points as of mid-July 2026:
- IPO price: $135/share (June 12, 2026)
- All-time high: $225.64 (June 16, 2026)
- 52-week low: $145.07 (July 10, 2026)
- Recent trading range: roughly $137–$145/share, per Investing.com
- Nasdaq-100 inclusion: July 7, 2026, triggering an estimated $4.3 billion in passive index-fund inflows
Despite the pullback, analyst price targets remain broadly bullish. Raymond James set an $800 target, one of the highest on the Street, with analyst Brian Gesuale arguing SpaceX is:
“Building the foundational platform for the next generation of industrial capacity,” says Brian Gesuale, an analyst at Raymond James.
Other firms are more measured: FactSet’s average analyst target sits closer to $236, with Morgan Stanley at $300 and Goldman Sachs at $205, per Forbes. SpaceX also carries a price-to-sales ratio well above other high-growth Nasdaq names, which several analysts cite as a reason for the stock’s volatility as it digests its own valuation.
Musk vs. Altman: The OpenAI Lawsuit and Ongoing Feud
Musk’s long-running legal battle with OpenAI reached a milestone this year. In his lawsuit alleging OpenAI abandoned its nonprofit mission, a federal jury in Oakland, California, returned a unanimous verdict finding Musk brought his case too late, effectively siding with OpenAI on procedural grounds, per Al Jazeera. Musk’s legal team has indicated the fight isn’t over and an appeal is expected.
The rivalry spilled back into public view over the past few days for an unrelated reason: after Apple filed a trade-secrets lawsuit against OpenAI, Musk and Sam Altman traded public jabs on X, with Musk accusing Altman of “scamming” and Altman firing back, according to The Hill and Gizmodo.
Other Musk Headlines Worth Watching
- The Boring Company named New Orleans and Dallas as winners of its “Tunnel Vision Challenge” for new underground tunnel systems, per Fox Business.
- Universal high income proposal: Some economists have pushed back on a Musk-floated universal high income idea, warning of inflation and budget risks.
- China delegation: Musk was reported to be joining a White House business delegation trip to China alongside other executives.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Elon Musk still the world’s richest person? Yes. Even after his net worth pulled back to roughly $879.3 billion in mid-July 2026, he remains well ahead of the next-wealthiest individuals, Larry Page and Sergey Brin.
Why did SpaceX stock drop after its IPO? Reports point to profit-taking after a strong debut rally, a very high valuation relative to current revenue, and investors awaiting key Starship test flights before committing further.
When is Tesla’s next earnings report? Tesla is scheduled to report Q2 2026 earnings on July 22, 2026.
Disclaimer: The information in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or trading advice. Cryptocurrencies and stocks, including TSLA and SPCX, are highly volatile and carry significant risk. Nothing here should be taken as a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Always do your own research (DYOR) and consult a licensed financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Market data referenced above reflects prices as of market close on July 13, 2026, and is subject to change.
