{"id":123374,"date":"2025-03-10T03:05:52","date_gmt":"2025-03-10T03:05:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/business\/marketing\/how-chinas-deepseek-torpedo-hit-where-it-hurts-most-et-brandequity\/"},"modified":"2025-03-10T03:05:52","modified_gmt":"2025-03-10T03:05:52","slug":"how-chinas-deepseek-torpedo-hit-where-it-hurts-most-et-brandequity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=123374","title":{"rendered":"How China’s DeepSeek torpedo hit where it hurts most, ET BrandEquity"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\"<p>Elon
Elon Musk and deepseek representative image<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Elon Musk<\/a>, CEO of Tesla<\/a> and SpaceX<\/a>, remains the world\u2019s richest individual, but his fortune has taken a substantial hit. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Musk\u2019s net worth now stands at $351 billion (\u20b930.70 lakh crore). However, he has lost a massive $81 billion (\u20b97 lakh crore) in just two months of 2025.<\/p>\n

The biggest blow came from the rapid rise of DeepSeek<\/a>, a Chinese AI startup<\/a> whose innovations have disrupted the tech industry<\/a>. In February alone, Musk\u2019s fortune dropped from $433 billion to $349 billion.<\/p>\n

SpaceX and Tesla: The Pillars of Musk\u2019s Fortune<\/h2>\n

Musk\u2019s wealth is primarily tied to his holdings in SpaceX and Tesla. As of March 2, 2025, he owns 42% of SpaceX through a trust. The private space company was valued at nearly $350 billion in a December 2024 tender offer, making his stake worth $136 billion.Meanwhile, his 13 per cent ownership in Tesla is worth around $120 billion. Tesla, the world\u2019s most valuable carmaker, had a market valuation of $942.37 billion as of February 28, 2025.<\/p>\n

Musk also holds an 79 per cent stake in X Corp (formerly Twitter), though its value has plummeted by 69 per cent since his 2022 acquisition for $44 billion. As of now, his stake is worth just $8.06 billion, per Fidelity Blue Chip Growth Fund.<\/p>\n

Other Assets and Liabilities<\/h2>\n

Beyond SpaceX and Tesla, Musk has significant stakes in emerging ventures. His AI startup xAI is valued at $22.6 billion, while The Boring Company and Neuralink are worth $3.33 billion and $2.07 billion, respectively.However, Musk\u2019s financial commitments are just as hefty. Bloomberg estimates his liabilities at $23.2 billion. Notably, he has repeatedly stated that he does not take a salary for his work at the U.S. government’s Department of Government Spending (DOGE).<\/p>\n

DeepSeek\u2019s Impact on other Tech Titans<\/h2>\n

DeepSeek\u2019s rise has sent ripples across the tech industry, erasing billions from the wealth of top billionaires. The startup\u2019s AI model, known as the R1, has been praised for its efficiency and affordability, challenging established players like OpenAI.<\/p>\n

Nvidia<\/a>, one of the hardest-hit companies, saw a massive $600 billion drop in market value due to a selloff triggered by DeepSeek\u2019s success.<\/p>\n

Meta<\/a> CEO Mark Zuckerberg, now the second richest man with $236 billion, lost $11 billion in 2025. Amazon\u2019s Jeff Bezos, ranked third with $232 billion, also took a hit.Despite the financial impact, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang acknowledged DeepSeek\u2019s groundbreaking innovation. Speaking on an earnings call, he said, \u201cIt\u2019s an excellent innovation, but even more importantly, it has open-sourced a world-class reasoning AI model.\u201d He added that DeepSeek had \u201cignited global enthusiasm.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other Billionaires Feeling the Heat<\/h2>\n

Several other business magnates have suffered losses in 2025:<\/p>\n