KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 15): Billionaire Elon Musk has been dethroned as the planet’s richest man after a slide electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc’s market capitalisation fell below US$500 billion for the fist time in two years.

Bloomberg reported that Tesla closed down 2.6% at US$156.80 in New York on Wednesday, taking its market capitalisation to US$495 billion, and bringing its decline this year to 55%. The slump is painful for a broad swath of investors: The company is the sixth-biggest member of the S&P 500 Index as of Wednesday’s close. It’s been the third-largest drag this year on the benchmark, which Tesla joined two years ago next week.