Elon Musk Warns Against Margin Debt on Risk of Market ‘Mass Panic’

(Bloomberg) — Billionaire Elon Musk has warned against margin debt, citing the risks of “mass panic” in the stock market as a possible recession looms.

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“I would really advise people not to have margin debt in a volatile stock market and you know, from a cash standpoint, keep powder dry,” Musk said in the All-In podcast released Friday. “You can get some pretty extreme things happening in a down market.”

The Tesla Inc. chief executive officer put up billions of his own money and took on $13 billion of debt when he purchased Twitter Inc. for $44 billion earlier this year. Bloomberg News has reported that Musk’s bankers are considering replacing some of the high-interest debt he layered on Twitter with new margin loans backed by Tesla stock that he’d be personally responsible for re-paying.

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He’s also disposed of nearly $40 billion of Tesla’s shares, a move that contributed to driving the stock to a two-year low. Following the latest sales, Musk again said this week he will stop selling shares, adding that hte pause could last for two years or so.

During the podcast, Musk also reiterated his belief that the economy is overdue for a recession and that the slowdown could be similar to the scale seen in 2009.

“My best guess is that we have stormy times for a year to a year and a half, and then, dawn breaks roughly in Q2 2024, that’s my best guess,” Musk said. “Booms don’t last forever, but neither do recessions.”

–With assistance from Susanne Barton and Craig Trudell.