Elon Musk's Net Worth Plunges By $20B as Dogecoin Joke on SNL Backfires --Here's How
Tesla CEO and Space X founder Elon Musk has lost a shocking $20 Billion from his net worth after appearing on SNL last weekend.
Forbes recently reported that Musk has an estimated net worth of $166 Billion before he appeared on the show. Today, the billionaire is now worth just $145.5 Billion as the market closes on Thursday, lowering his net worth by $20.5 Billion.
This came after the billionaire announced that Tesla would no longer accept bitcoin as a form of payment and him saying dogecoin was a 'hustle'
After he mentioned in the show that Dogecoin was a 'hustle' the value of the mentioned cryptocurrency falls 30% within 24 hours.
Last Wednesday, Musk made a sudden change on his February statement saying that Tesla would accept Bitcoin as a form of payment, the billionaire then tweeted an announcement saying that the company suspends vehicle payments using Bitcoin.
"Tesla has suspended vehicle purchases using Bitcoin. We are concerned about rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions, especially coal, which has the worst emissions of any fuel." the Tesla CEO announced in a tweet (check out the full statement below)
"Cryptocurrency is a good idea on many levels and we believe it has a promising future, but this cannot come at great cost to the environment" he added.
The billionaire has also explained that his company won't be selling the cryptocurrency "Tesla will not be selling Bitcoin and we intend to use it for transactions as soon as mining transitions to more sustainable energy. We are also looking at other cryptocurrencies that use <1% of Bitcoin's energy/transaction" he concluded.
After the statement was released, the price of Bitcoin dramatically drops by 17% to below $50,000.
Bitcoin mining uses a big amount of electricity, by the time Tesla purchased Bitcoin in February, it is reported that the cryptocurrency was using an estimated 121.9 terrawatt hours of energy, the same amount as countries like Argentina and the Netherlands in an annual basis.
Despite his big loss, Musk remains as the third-richest person in the world ahead by Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates who's worth an estimated $127.6 Billion.
Musk appeared on Saturday Night Live last weekend with girlfriend Grimes and Miley Cyrus. The billionaire is considered to be the wealthiest man to appear on the show.