Tesla Share Price Plunge Knocks $267 Billion Off Market Value

A sharp decline in Tesla’s share price has wiped more than $250 billion off the value of the electric car company, and dragged down the value of an Edinburgh-based investment fund that is one of Tesla’s biggest backers. The Guardian reports: The shares dropped by 7.5% in early trading in the U.S. on Friday to $575 — setting them on course to close down 16% this week and 35% below their record peak of $883 on 26 January. The decline has knocked $267 billion off Tesla’s market value, from $834 billion in January to about $567 billion. The collapse has also wiped billions from fortune of Elon Musk, the chief executive, who owns about 20% of the shares. Musk, who lost his briefly held title of the world’s richest person last month, has seen his paper fortune drop by $7.5 billion so far this year to an estimated $162 billion. Analysts said Tesla’s shares were falling as investors worried that the car company may be vastly overvalued. At the same time rising US bond yields are making companies that pay small dividends unappealing. Tesla has never paid a dividend.