Elon Musk's next move could be an unexpected one, with the tech billionaire still dealing with the aftermath of his spectacular fallout with President Donald Trump. Cracks between the world's richest man and the President of the United States started to show when the latter announced his One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Elon Musk branded the bill a 'disgusting abomination', and while Trump seemed to take it on the chin, Musk soon started to spiral. Taking to X, he vowed to pull his SpaceX Dragon rocket out of service, called for Donald Trump to be impeached, and even claimed the POTUS' name is being hidden in the Epstein Files.
Although Musk has deleted the Epstein post, the ramifications are sure to be felt. He lost $34 billion in just 24 hours, but this could be just a drop in the ocean compared to what he could be about to be stung for.
Several big Russian names have offered Musk political asylum, with former Roscomos head Dmitry Rogozin posting: "Elon @elonmusk, don't be upset! You are respected in Russia. If you encounter insurmountable problems in the US, come to us and become one of us - a 'Bars-Sarmat' fighter. Here you will find reliable comrades and complete freedom of technical creativity."
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While Musk has posted a laughing emoji so far in terms of taking Russia up on the offer, could he really follow in the footsteps of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden? Asking ChatGPT how much Musk could stand to lose, almost half of his supposed $423 billion fortune could be on the chopping block. We've already seen Tesla wipe billions off its value, but this would just be the start of its troubles if Musk defects to Russia.
According to the AI chatbot, Musk owns around 13% of Tesla (worth up to $104 billion), but a move to Russia would likely cause investor panic amid threats of government sanctions and de-listing, then leading to potential board actions and Musk losing up to $52 billion.
As for SpaceX, Musk is said to own up to $100 billion. The US government could revoke NASA contracts if it deems SpaceX a security risk, leaving Musk out of pocket by $70 billion.
Both SpaceX and Tesla have benefited from government subsidies and contracts, and if revoked, his future revenue might be impacted by $20 billion. Considering Musk has equity in X, xAI, Neuralink, The Boring Company, and more, the fact that these rely on US talent suggests Musk could lose $10 billion here.
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There's also his US-based assets, cash holdings, and shares potentially being frozen or seized. If designated as supporting a power like Russia, his foreign assets in Western countries would also be targeted, and $10 billion of wealth could be at risk. Finally, there's his long-term wealth erosion from being tied to Russia. ChatGPT warns: "By aligning with Russia, Musk would likely lose access to most global capital markets, be unable to freely travel for business, face major partner and institutional investor exits."
His brand could supposedly collapse in the West, costing him a future $50 billion.
Crunching the numbers, Musk could be set to lose anywhere between $103 billion and $212 billion. The idea of wiping out half of his wealth simply by moving to Russia is sure to be a scary one, but having burned his bridges with President Trump, Musk might be wise to get out of town while he still can.