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Tesla CEO Elon Musk: 'I am worried about the high interest rate environment that we're in'

Musk cites the concern in relation to the average Tesla model's high sticker price.

Ozzie Mejia

October 18, 2023 3:07 PM

Associated Press

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Tesla's Q3 2023 earnings call has been an eventful one with CEO Elon Musk making several newsworthy statements. Among other notes, Musk has been looking ahead to the automaker's future and notes a concern for the current state of the economy. Specifically, he expressed concern for the current pattern of high interest rates.

"I am worried about the high interest rate environment that we're in." - @elonmusk on the $TSLA earnings call #TSLA #Tesla #TeslaEarnings pic.twitter.com/WMRrIQkfMT

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"I am worried about the high interest rate environment that we're in," Musk said during the Tesla Q3 2023 earnings call. "I just can't emphasize this enough that for the vast majority of people buying a car, it's about the monthly payment. As interest rates rise, the proportion of that monthly payment that's interest increases naturally. If interest rates remain higher or get even higher, it's that much harder for people to buy the car, because they can't afford it."

Musk cites the high interest rate environment as he expresses concern over potential sales of vehicles like the Tesla Model Y. He notes that the Model Y, while it boasts some high-end features and a long shelf life, does come with a higher sticker price than the average vehicle, as do many other Tesla cars.

Musk's statement comes in the wake of Tesla reporting a 17.9 percent Q3 2023 gross margin with gross profit down a whopping 22 percent year-over-year. We'll continue watching for more from Tesla's CEO. Be sure to check out the Tesla Q3 2023 earnings results and conference call transcript.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?