Tesla chief Elon Musk says recession could last until spring of 2024

Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk on Friday tweeted that he thinks a recession will last until the spring of 2024, after earlier saying "a recession of sorts" in China and Europe was weighing on demand for its electric cars.

Musk earlier told analysts on a conference call that the weakness in China and Europe was causing demand to be 'a little harder than it otherwise would be.'

"Just guessing, but probably until spring of '24," Musk said on Twitter after a user asked him how long the recession would last.



While Musk told analysts that Tesla has "excellent demand" for the current quarter, the EV maker said it would miss its annual delivery target due to limited transportation capacity.

Musk flip-flopped on demand during a July conference call, saying at first that macroeconomic uncertainty might have some impact on demand for its electric vehicles, but when pressed for details by an analyst, he said the company did not have a demand problem but a production problem.

Musk said he had a "super bad feeling" about the economy and that Tesla needed to cut about 10% of staff, according to a June email seen by Reuters. Later, he said the reduction would apply only to salaried workers.

Shares of Tesla Inc slid on Thursday, a day after Chief Executive Elon Musk said it was a "little harder" for the electric-vehicle maker to garner demand in the face of a weakening global economy.

Musk told analysts on a conference call on Wednesday that China and Europe are experiencing “a recession of sorts” that are causing demand to be "a little harder than it otherwise would be." But he also said the EV maker has "excellent demand" for the current quarter, although Tesla said it would miss its annual delivery target due to limited transportation capacity.

(With inputs from Reuters)