On an earnings call with analysts, Musk said, quote:
"One day it seems like the world economy is falling apart, next day it's fine. I don't know what the hell is going on... We're in, I would call it, turbulent times."
Tesla shares fell nearly 5% after the call.
To price out competitors in the U.S., China and other key markets, Tesla has slashed prices several times since late last year, by as much as a quarter on some of its models.
Though the cuts have squeezed the company's gross margins, a closely watched indicator in the industry,
on the same call, Musk doubled down on his earlier assertion that Tesla would sacrifice margins to boost vehicle production.
The company did complete a record 466,000 vehicle deliveries globally between April and July.
But Tesla's quarterly gross margin during that same period, regulatory credits aside, fell to around 18%, according to Reuters' calculations.
That's a far cry from the 26% it reported for the same period in 2022, and the lowest for Tesla in four years.
In a statement, Tesla reiterated its plan to deliver 1.8 million vehicles this year, but acknowledged that production would drop in the third quarter due to factory upgrades.
