Tesla CEO Elon Musk has stated that he will not sell any more of his company’s stock for the next two years.
Musk stated in a Twitter Spaces audio conversation that the economy will likely be in a “serious recession” in 2023.
According to him, Tesla’s board is open to the possibility of a buyback, but it will depend on how bad the recession is.
The billionaire, who also controls Twitter and SpaceX, previously stated that he would not sell any more Tesla stock before doing exactly the opposite.
He sold about $4 billion in Tesla shares in April before claiming there would be “no additional sales planned after today.” However, he has sold substantial quantities of shares several times since then. In addition, he announced another $3.6 billion in stock transactions last week.
“I needed to sell some stock to make sure there’s powder dry…to account for a worst-case scenario,” he said.
Tesla shares have dropped about 70% this year as investors worry that events have preoccupied Musk at Twitter since taking over the platform in October.
Musk argued that Twitter is a relatively easy company to run despite this, stating it is “maybe 10 percent of the complexity of Tesla”.
Musk paid $44 billion for Twitter, promising to enhance the company by removing fake accounts and encouraging free speech, but it has not been an easy ride.
He has made a series of contentious policy decisions, and many large advertisers have abandoned the platform as concerns grow about its orientation and capacity to pay interest on the $13 billion debt Musk signed to purchase.