July 19 Reuters Tesla CEO Elon Musk signalled on Wednesday that he would cut prices again on electric vehicles in turbulent times, even as his allout price war on automaker rivals squeezes the company39;s own margins.

The company has slashed prices several times in the United States, China and other markets since late last year, and increased discounts and other incentives to reduce inventory, as it tries to shield against competition and economic uncertainty.

One day it seems like the world economy is falling apart, next day it39;s fine. I don39;t know what the hell is going on, Musk told analysts on a conference call. We39;re in, I would call it, turbulent times.

Tesla shares, which had been largely flat after hours, fell nearly 5 after Musk39;s comments.

The large price cuts have pressured Tesla39;s automotive gross margin, a closely watched indicator in the industry, but Musk has said Tesla would sacrifice margin to drive volume growth.

He said so again on Wednesday I think it makes it does make sense to sacrifice margins in favor of making more vehicles, adding that if macroeconomic conditions were not stable, Tesla would have to lower prices.

As an example, Tesla this year cut U.S. prices of its Model Y longrange version by a quarter to 50,490.

Tesla39;s quarterly automotive gross margin, excluding regulatory credits, fell to 18.1 in the second quarter from 19 in the first quarter, according to Reuters39; calculations. That was in line with Street…