Elon Musk spoke about crystal balls, financial institution lending, self-driving vehicles and lithium refineries this week. Listed below are his 10 greatest quotes from Tesla’s Q1 earnings name.

• Elon Musk spoke about banks, self-driving vehicles, crystal balls, and lithium refineries this week.
• He warned of “stormy climate” forward and mentioned fee hikes, layoff fears, and financial institution lending are worries.

Elon Musk touched on crystal balls, lithium refineries, self-driving vehicles, and a possible credit score crunch throughout Tesla’s first-quarter earnings name on Wednesday.

The Tesla, Twitter, and SpaceX CEO warned of a tough 12 months forward for the US financial system, and defined why rising rates of interest, layoff fears, and tighter lending by banks threaten to depress automobile gross sales.

Musk additionally trumpeted Tesla’s Dojo supercomputer platform and self-driving expertise as potential game-changers for the corporate, and predicted gas-powered autos will finally grow to be curiosities, in keeping with a transcript supplied by AlphaSense/Sentieo.

Listed below are Musk’s 10 greatest quotes, calmly edited for size and readability:

1. “Stormy climate for about 12 months after which, supplied there aren’t any main geopolitical wildcards that present up, that issues begin getting sunny round spring subsequent 12 months.” (Musk was sharing his outlook for the US financial system.)

2. “Man, I want I had a crystal ball to reply your query. I feel we’re in unsure occasions. And if any person received a crystal ball they’ll lend me, I might actually wish to borrow it.”

3. “Each time the Fed raises the rates of interest, that is equal to rising the value of a automobile. Each time there may be uncertainty within the financial system, individuals will usually postpone huge, new capital purchases like a brand new automobile. If individuals are studying about layoffs and whatnot within the press, they may be nervous about being laid off. So then they’re going to be, naturally, somewhat extra hesitant than they might in any other case be to purchase a brand new automobile.” (Musk was highlighting two huge headwinds for US automakers.)

4. “It is a wager value making, however not one you possibly can take to the financial institution. Though as of late, take it to the financial institution, it is possibly not as safe because it was once.” (Musk was discussing Tesla’s Dojo’s supercomputer platform, and nodding to the failure of Silicon Valley Financial institution and Signature Financial institution in March.)

5. “Most likely banks should not leaning ahead in offering loans, I count on, as of late.” (Musk was hinting at a doable credit score crunch if banks, dealing with deposit outflows and the prospect of additional financial institution runs, pull again on lending.)

6. “All vehicles shall be EVs. We’ll look again on inner combustion engine autos the identical manner we glance again on exterior combustion engine autos just like the steam engine. There’s nonetheless just a few round. They’re type of quirky and type of cool collectors’ gadgets. That is how gasoline vehicles shall be sooner or later.”

7. “If we’re capable of have a fleet of a number of million autos that with a software program replace could be probably value a number of occasions their authentic worth … if that occurs, and I feel it’s going to occur, that would be the greatest asset worth improve in historical past.” (Musk was outlining his imaginative and prescient of finally rolling out autonomous driving to all Tesla autos by way of a software program replace, permitting them to function robotaxis and generate revenue.)

8. “The very best short-selling argument towards Tesla for the longest time was the truth that Tesla didn’t have an current fleet. The largest motive incumbents succeed and newcomers fail within the auto trade is that the incumbents have a big fleet. They’re capable of promote new vehicles at near zero margin, after which promote spare components at a really excessive margin, form of a razors-and-blades kind factor.”

9. “Can different individuals please do that work? That might be nice. We’re begging you. We do not need to do it. Can somebody please? As an alternative of constructing a picture-sharing app, attempt lithium mining and refining, heavy trade, come on.” (Musk was underscoring the unmet want for refined lithium within the EV trade.)

10. “You may’t have an excessive amount of luck within the rocket enterprise, that is for positive.”