One decision. One unexpected move. That’s all it took to wipe $90 million off Elon Musk’s net worth in a single trading day, sending shockwaves across Wall Street and Silicon Valley alike.

The drop came after a mysterious shift in Tesla’s internal AI development roadmap was leaked online. Sources claim the move could delay certain autonomous vehicle milestones by up to six months. Investors, already jittery over the volatile EV market, responded with a massive sell-off that shaved millions off Musk’s fortune before lunch.

Adding fuel to the fire, Musk posted a cryptic message on X (formerly Twitter) just hours earlier: “Sometimes you have to slow down to speed up.” While some read it as strategic patience, others feared it was an admission of deeper issues. The timing of the post coincided almost exactly with the sharpest dip in Tesla’s share price that day.

But it wasn’t just Tesla stock taking a hit. SpaceX insiders revealed a minor—but costly—setback with a Starship prototype, adding another layer of uncertainty for Musk’s vast business empire. The markets, ever sensitive to perception, punished the news with relentless selling.

Meanwhile, analysts are split on the true cause. Some say the $90 million loss is simply a “paper cut” for a man whose net worth regularly swings by billions. Others warn it could signal the start of a more turbulent period for Musk, especially given the competitive pressure from both Chinese EV manufacturers and Big Tech’s AI push.

Social media, as always, turned the event into a spectacle. Fans urged Musk to “ignore the noise” and push forward, while critics gleefully called it “karma” for his outspoken online persona. Hashtags like #MuskCrash and #TeslaTrouble trended worldwide within hours.

For Musk himself, the loss seemed almost irrelevant. Insiders say he immediately convened a closed-door strategy meeting focused not on recovering the $90 million, but on accelerating Tesla’s next AI-integrated vehicle launch. His parting words to staff reportedly were: “The future isn’t written in stock prices—it’s written in the next breakthrough.”

Whether this day will be remembered as a blip or a turning point is still unclear. But one thing is certain: Elon Musk is playing the long game, and he’s not afraid to gamble big—even when the stakes hit his own wallet. And if history is any guide, the world hasn’t seen his biggest move yet.