Tesla boss Elon Musk has announced that he will not sell any more stakes in the electric car maker for about two years.
Musk said in an audio chat from Twitter Spaces on Thursday that he expects the economy to enter a “deep recession” in 2023, with lower demand for blockbuster goods.
His comments come after Tesla’s stock plunge deepened on Thursday due to concerns about slowing demand for electric vehicles and distractions from Mr. Musk’s Twitter and stock sales.
Musk said, “I won’t sell stock until, I don’t know, probably two years from now. Definitely not next year under any circumstances and probably not the year thereafter.”
Tesla shares rose 3% in after-hours trading on Thursday and fell 8.9% during regular trading to $129.23.
Musk has previously promised not to sell Tesla shares before selling. Last week, Musk also announced a $3.6 billion sale of his stock, making him nearly $40 billion in total since the end of last year, and investing as the company’s stock plummeted to his lowest in more than two years.
The billionaire said, “I needed to sell some stock to make sure, like, there’s powder dry … to account for a worst-case scenario.”
He said Tesla’s board is open to buybacks, but that would depend on the depth of the recession.
Tesla’s shares plunged 9% on Thursday after it began offering US consumers a hefty $7,500 rebate, fueling investor concerns about slowing demand from a slowing economy.
Adding that homes and cars will get “disproportionately impacted” by economic conditions, he said, “I think there is going to be some macro drama that’s higher than people currently think.”
“[Twitter] is maybe 10% of the complexity of Tesla,” Musk said.
When asked if he would let someone like venture capitalist David Sachs run Twitter so he could focus on Tesla, Musk dodged the question, saying Twitter was a relatively easy business.
In response to concerns that his political views and controversial comments would alienate some people, he said, “I don’t want to suppress my views just to boost stock prices.” A strategic decision at a social media company that went private in a $44 billion deal to.
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