Elon Musk Says Treasury Bills Are ‘No-Brainer’

Elon Musk sees a lot to like at the shortest end of the Treasury curve.

(Bloomberg) — Elon Musk sees a lot to like at the shortest end of the Treasury curve.

On Thursday, Musk, the chief executive of Tesla Inc. and owner of X, the social-media platform formerly known as Twitter, said that short-term Treasury bills are “a no-brainer.” 

The comments were in response to a tweet from Pershing Square Capital Management’s Bill Ackman. 

Late Wednesday, Ackman said that his firm was short 30-year Treasury bonds, both as a hedge against the impact of higher rates on stocks and also as a “standalone” bet. Ackman added on Thursday that Pershing uses shorter-term bills for cash management, echoing Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett. 

Berkshire has no plans to stop buying Treasury bills following a downgrade of the US by Fitch Ratings this week, Buffett said Thursday.

Long-duration Treasuries are still on pace for their worst week of 2023. Drivers apart from the downgrade include larger-than-expected auctions this month and the Bank of Japan’s move to ease its cap on domestic bond yields.

Musk didn’t immediately respond to a question from Bloomberg asking for his view on 10- and 30-year Treasuries. 

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