Elon Musk is back on top of Bloomberg's ranking of the richest people on earth. The billionaire lost his position to Bernard Arnault, who helms French high-fashion conglomerate LVMH, in December of 2022, as Tesla's stock declined significantly amid a broader market downturn.
But as the stock has recovered in early 2023, Musk's fortune has risen with it.
Shares of Tesla are up around 95 percent since January 1, and Musk's net worth was $187.1 billion at the close of markets on Monday, placing Arnault in second place with his $185.3 billion.
Now the big question is whether Tesla will keep up the momentum. The stock is still down more than 80 percent over the past 12 months, and the headwinds it faced in 2022 remain.
In particular, Musk remains saddled with making Twitter financially viable. On Saturday night, the social media platform laid off at least 200 people, which is roughly 10 percent the remaining 2,000 who work for the company. There were around 7,500 employees when Musk started making cuts to reduce costs.
In addition, waning demand for electric vehicles has forced Tesla to cut prices to move inventory. While the cuts have boosted sales, they remain sluggish in key markets such as China.
American businesses that rely on Chinese goods are reacting with muted relief after the U.S. and China agreed to pause their exorbitant tariffs on each other’s products for 90 days. Many companies delayed or canceled orders after President Donald Trump last month put a 145% tariff on items made in China. Importers still face relatively high tariffs, however, as well as uncertainty over what will happen in the coming weeks and months. The temporary truce was announced as retailers and their suppliers are looking to finalize their plans and orders for the holiday shopping season. They’re concerned a mad scramble to get goods onto ships will lead to bottlenecks and increased shipping costs.
Shopping expert Trae Bodge discusses how talks between the U.S. and China is good news for now, but uncertainty remains for back-to-school and the holidays.
Jake Traylor, White House reporter at Politico, joins Cheddar to discuss how Trump is aiming to lower drug prices and how it differs from Biden's approach.
Sheryl Palmer, CEO of Taylor Morrison, talks tariff uncertainty, being a female leader in a male dominated industry and what homebuyers need to know. Watch!