Elon Musk saw his wealth plummet by more than $12 billion in just a day as he faced chaos and disappointing news from across his companies -- SpaceX, Twitter and Tesla.

According to Bloomberg's Billionaires Index, this was the biggest drop in Musk's wealth so far this year.

Tesla's share price fell by 9.8 per cent after disappointing first quarter results.

Tesla's operating income decreased 24 per cent to $2.7 billion in Q1 2023 as the Elon Musk-run EV maker continues to cut prices of its vehicles.

On the same day, SpaceX's integrated Starship spacecraft experienced a "rapid unscheduled disassembly" four minutes into its first test flight.

SpaceX's giant Starship rocket exploded after its launch from the US state of Texas on Thursday.

The rocket got off the launch pad in SpaceX's Starbase in South Texas but exploded minutes later. The spacecraft failed to reach orbit.

Twitter also went into chaos after Elon Musk removed legacy Blue check marks, leaving hundreds of celebrities in the doldrum.

Musk still remains the world's second-richest person despite this latest tumble in net worth, behind French tycoon Bernard Arnault, reports The Verge.

Musk's fortune once sat as high as $320 billion in late 2021. Later, he became the first person in history to lose over $200 billion. [IANS/NS]