Elon Musk Says Tesla and Spacex See Significant Inflation Pressure — Confirms He Won’t Sell Crypto
Tesla and Spacex CEO Elon Musk has revealed that his two companies are seeing significant inflation pressure in raw materials and logistics. He advised people to own physical things when inflation is high but stressed he will not sell his cryptocurrencies: bitcoin, ether, and dogecoin.
Elon Musk Discusses High Inflation
The CEO of Tesla and Spacex, Elon Musk, discussed high inflation in a series of tweets that started Sunday evening. He began by asking his 7.7 million Twitter followers, “What are your thoughts about probable inflation rate over next few years?” Musk also revealed that his companies, Tesla and Spacex, are seeing significant inflation pressure in raw materials and logistics.
The Spacex boss noted that other companies are seeing a similar trend. He referenced an article published by the Financial Times earlier this month stating that global commodity prices are on track for the biggest weekly rally in more than 50 years as Europe’s natural gas prices have hit a new record.
Dominic O’Kane, an analyst at global investment bank JPMorgan, was quoted by the publication as saying: “Events in Russia and Ukraine are unleashing exceptional commodity price moves, which could have structural implications on long-term supply . . . but we also believe there are credible threats of demand destruction as commodity prices melt-up.”
Many people replied to Musk’s tweets about inflation. Orcam Group founder Cullen Roche detailed: “The probability of 10%+ inflation is extremely high for much of 2022. Interestingly, this also increases the risk of deflation in 2023 & 2024 as it increases the risk of the Fed making a policy mistake and/or prices correcting by crashing.”
Last week, Charlie Bilello, founder of Compound Capital Advisors, noted: “The U.S. inflation rate rises to 7.9%, its highest level since 1982. Core inflation (excludes food/energy) rises to 6.4%, also the highest we’ve seen since 1982.”
Elon Musk’s Inflation Advice and Cryptocurrencies
Among those who replied to Musk was the pro-bitcoin CEO of Microstrategy, Michael Saylor. He tweeted:
USD consumer inflation will continue near all time highs, and asset inflation will run at double the rate of consumer inflation. Weaker currencies will collapse, and the flight of capital from cash, debt, & value stocks to scarce property like bitcoin will intensify.
Musk was not surprised by Saylor’s conclusion. “It is not entirely unpredictable that you would reach that conclusion,” he replied. The Spacex boss proceeded to advise that as a general principle, “it is generally better to own physical things like a home or stock in companies you think make good products than dollars when inflation is high.”
The Tesla technoking further confirmed that he still owns three cryptocurrencies and will not sell them. “I still own & won’t sell my bitcoin, ethereum or doge,” Musk wrote.
He first revealed in June last year that he personally owns BTC, ETH, and DOGE. He also said that Spacex only owns BTC. As for his electric car company, Tesla told the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a filing that the fair market value of its bitcoin holdings as of Dec. 31 was $1.99 billion.
On Monday, Musk also tweeted challenging Russian President Vladamir Putin to “single combat.” He said the “stakes are Ukraine.” He followed up with another tweet less than an hour later, asking the Kremlin: “Do you agree to this fight?”
The Spacex CEO has sent a couple of shipments of Starlink equipment to Ukraine. “Starlink keeps our cities connected and emergency services saving lives,” said Mykhailo Fedorov, the Ukrainian vice prime minister.
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