China News Service, April 21. According to CNBC News, on the 20th local time, during Tesla's first-quarter earnings conference call, CEO Elon Musk said that he believes that the actual level of inflation in the United States is higher than the official data. Be bad, and inflation will likely continue throughout 2022.
FILE PHOTO: Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
According to reports, data released by the US Department of Labor on the 19th showed that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine caused energy costs to rise, and the US inflation rate in March increased by 8.5% year-on-year, reaching a new high in 40 years.
Musk's remarks came in response to analysts' questions about the recent price hike in Tesla vehicles and how Tesla plans to achieve its long-term goal of bringing all-electric vehicles to the masses.
Musk also said that Tesla absolutely wants to make electric vehicles as affordable as possible, but unfortunately, pricing can be a challenge in the face of a changing macroeconomic environment.
"I think the official data actually understates the true extent of inflation," Musk said. "It seems likely that inflation will persist for at least the rest of the year."
Also, with the recent price hikes on Tesla vehicles, analysts wondered if Musk thought the company might raise prices again soon.
Musk denied this, saying the current pricing is Tesla's expectation of a possible increase in its costs, and "the current price is for vehicles delivered in the next 6 to 12 months."
But he warned that Tesla "has no control over the macroeconomic environment" and "whether the government continues to print large amounts of money."