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Elon Musk: US recession more likely than not in near term
Tesla chief executive Elon Musk has warned that the US economy could soon fall into recession.
In an interview with Bloomberg News at the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha this morning, Musk said it appears “more likely than not” that the US economy enters recession in the near term.
Asked about president Biden’s prediction that a recession was “not inevitable” despite rising inflation, Musk pointed out that it will happen eventually… and quite possibly soon.
Musk said:
“A recession is inevitable at some point. As to whether there is a recession in the near term, I think that is more likely than not.
It’s not a certainty, but it appears more likely than not.
Musk isn’t alone. A poll of academic economists earlier this month found that nearly 70% predict the US economy will tip into a recession next year, as the Federal Reserve lifts interest rates aggressively in an attempt to cool inflation.
During the interview, Musk also said Tesla plans to cut its salaried workforce by about 10% over the next three months, which will work out as a 3.5% cut in total headcount.
Musk said:
“Tesla is reducing its salaried workforce roughly 10% over the next three months or so. We expect to grow our hourly workforce. We grew very fast on the salaried side, grew a little too fast in some areas”
Musk added that supply constraints were the biggest brake on Tesla’s growth, rather than competition from rival automakers.
On his planned takeover of Twitter, Musk said there are still a few “unresolved matters”, including the issue of how many bots are on the social media platform [earlier this month he threatened to walk away from the deal]
And asked whether he would support Donald Trump in the next US presidential election, Musk said he was “undecided at this point on that election.”
