ToplineElon Musk’s fortune was cut by more than $18 billion on Thursday amid the worst intraday selloff in Tesla shares in more than a year, following the automaker’s earnings report that disappointed Wall Street, as analysts called for Musk’s firm to bring “tangible” results for its robotics and robotaxi businesses.The automaker reported earnings that disappointed Wall Street, with plans to spend billions more on AI.Getty ImagesKey FactsShares of Tesla plunged 14.1% as of Thursday afternoon, pacing what would be the largest single-day decline for the stock since June 5, 2025 (14.2%).That drop in Tesla’s share price lowered Musk’s net worth by $18.6 billion to $731.7 billion, even as he remains the world’s richest person ahead of Google co-founder Larry Page ($263.8 billion) and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos ($245.4 billion).Tesla's slump follows the company’s quarterly earnings report on Wednesday, in which the automaker reported $28.2 billion in revenue, beating consensus analyst estimates of $27.2 billion, according to FactSet, while posting earnings that fell well below projections of 55 cents at 33 cents. Chief financial officer Vaibhav Taneja, during Tesla’s earnings call, reiterated plans for the automaker to spend $25 billion this year and more in the coming years.That brought some criticism from Wall Street: Morgan Stanley analysts said in a note that while Tesla’s spending is a “necessary investment,” the company will need to present “tangible” milestones for its robotaxi and Optimus programs.Canaccord Genuity analysts echoed that sentiment, writing the firm wanted to see meaningful robotaxi deployments over the next six months as Tesla ramped up its AI strategy.surprising factCanaccord analysts noted they hoped to see momentum around a merger between Tesla and SpaceX. In Tesla’s earnings call, Musk deflected a question about a possible tie-up following months of speculation: “We can’t talk about, you know, combining companies and that kind of thing on an earnings call—it has got to be done with the appropriate process.” Musk did note there is “more and more overlap” between his two firms, pointing to Starlink’s integration in Cybertrucks, and TeraFab, a proposed AI chip manufacturing venture between Tesla, SpaceX and the former xAI, which is now a SpaceX subsidiary.what to watch forSpaceX will launch its 13th test flight of the Starship rocket on Thursday, its first since the rocket maker’s initial public offering last month. An earlier launch scheduled for last week was aborted after Musk said some of the rocket’s engines failed to start. That pushed SpaceX shares down by more than 4%, lowering Musk’s net worth by more than $45 billion.contraSpaceX shares were largely flat on the day, down only 0.1% as of around 1:45 p.m. EDT, having little impact on Musk’s fortune.key backgroudnMusk’s fortune has fallen more than $700 billion from its peak, which came shortly after SpaceX’s IPO. A trading debut for his SpaceX made him a trillionaire, and surging shares in the rocket maker boosted him to a high of $1.45 trillion before a weekslong selloff that has since pushed his net worth below pre-IPO levels. The latest dip in Tesla shares followed speculation from shareholders about whether Musk would reveal updates for Tesla’s Optimus robotics or robotaxi plans, with submitted questions ahead of the automaker’s earnings asking why its robotaxi business had been “stalled.” Another question posed: “What is keeping Tesla back from accomplishing these short-term goals that they’ve set for themselves?”further readingForbesMusk Says Tesla And SpaceX ‘Can’t Talk About’ Merging On Earnings Call—But Here’s What He Did SayBy Ty Roush