Elon Musk says Tesla’s sales have “already turned around” without providing any evidence except the share price
Data shows declining sales in Europe and China, two of its biggest markets besides the US. Musk also said the stock was trading “near all-time highs” when Tesla is down 30% from its peak.
In a video conversation with Bloomberg at its Qatar Economic Forum, Tesla CEO Elon Musk disputed the fact that the EV company’s sales are falling.
When Bloomberg Weekend Editor-at-Large Mishal Husain asked how the CEO is trying to reverse the company’s declining sales, Musk replied, “It’s already turned around.”
When Husain asked for evidence and pointed out declining European sales in April, Musk responded, “ Europe is our weakest market. We’re strong everywhere else.”
Sales, of course, are also down in China, Tesla’s second-biggest market so far in Q2, as well. We don’t yet have any Q2 sales data for the US.
“We’ve lost some sales perhaps on the left, but we’ve gained them on the right. The sales numbers at this point are strong and we see no problem with demand,” Musk said. “There are also people who are buying it because Elon’s crazy.”
Instead of providing any contrary sales numbers, Musk pointed to the company’s share price as evidence of the turnaround.
“Our stock wouldn’t be trading near all-time highs if things weren’t in good shape,” Musk told the editor regarding sales. “They’re fine. Don’t worry about it.”
In reality, Tesla is off nearly 30% from its all-time high in December and down 14% year to date.
When Musk was asked if he was committed to being CEO five years from now, he said he was — with one condition:
“I can’t be CEO if I’m dead.”
