Elon Musk’s net worth dropped to $991.6 billion on October 8, 2026, after a $36.4 billion decline sparked by a sell-off in Tesla and SpaceX shares. The move reflects growing investor anxiety regarding massive debt-funded AI chip acquisitions. While global tech stocks faltered, Indian IT markets showed resilience, with the Nifty IT index rallying on positive domestic earnings.
Elon Musk has exited the trillion-dollar club for the second time this month after his personal fortune fell by $36.4 billion in a single session. On October 8, 2026, Musk's net worth stood at $991.6 billion, just three days after he had briefly reclaimed the milestone. This decline follows a broad market retreat that saw major technology stocks face significant downward pressure.
The decline was largely driven by a negative market reaction to reports involving SpaceX. Investors reacted with caution to news that the company may be planning to raise $40 billion in debt to finance large-scale acquisitions of Nvidia artificial intelligence chips. This development intensified concerns about the high capital expenditure required to maintain growth in the AI infrastructure sector. Simultaneously, Tesla shares fell by over 2%, further impacting Musk's personal holdings.
Global Tech Volatility vs. Indian Market Resilience
The impact of this market correction extended to other prominent technology leaders. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang saw his net worth retreat by $6.1 billion to $199.3 billion, while Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison experienced a decline of $8.9 billion. These losses occurred alongside a broader sell-off in the U.S. markets, with the Nasdaq 100 recording a 1.4% decline—its sharpest single-day drop in seven weeks.
In contrast, the Indian equity market demonstrated resilience on the morning of October 9. While global peers struggled with valuation and spending concerns, the Nifty IT index rallied over 3% to reach the 28,604 level. This divergence was primarily supported by strong quarterly results from Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which helped buoy investor sentiment in the domestic IT sector.
Investor Monitorables
The recent market movement highlights an increasing investor focus on the sustainability of AI-related capital spending. As companies like SpaceX seek significant debt to fund hardware acquisitions, shareholders are weighing the potential for long-term growth against the immediate pressure of rising interest costs and debt levels. For investors, the next critical update will be the impact of these spending plans on corporate margins and the continued performance of global AI-linked stocks versus local earnings growth. Analysts and market observers will likely watch whether high-debt models in the AI infrastructure space continue to face volatility in an inflationary environment.