Elon Musk Teases New Tesla Products While Warning About Near-Term Economic Challenges

“Tesla is not immune to the global economic environment," the Tesla chief executive said Tuesday at the company’s annual shareholder meeting in Texas.

Mr. Musk’s comments came after shareholders elected former Chief Technology Officer JB Straubel to the board, while re-electing Mr. Musk and Robyn Denholm.

Mr. Musk didn’t provide details about the two new products, though said Tesla could produce more than five million units a year of the two models combined. Company executives previously outlined plans to introduce a vehicle that costs half as much to produce as the Model 3.

Mr. Musk also said Tesla expects to complete engineering and design of its revamped Roadster sports car this year, with production possibly starting in 2024. Mr. Musk previously said the new Roadster would be available in 2020. First deliveries of the Cybertruck pickup are expected later this year.

The shareholder meeting came days after Mr. Musk said Linda Yaccarino would be taking over from him as CEO of social-media platform Twitter. Mr. Musk, who previously said the hire from NBCUniversal would allow him to devote more time to Tesla, described Twitter as a “short-term distraction."

“I had to do some major open-heart surgery on Twitter to ensure the company’s survival," Mr. Musk said. “I think Twitter is now in a stable place."

Some Tesla investors have expressed concerns that Tesla’s board hasn’t done enough to keep Mr. Musk focused on the auto maker’s day-to-day needs. Those worries have been fueled, in part, by a slump in Tesla’s share price, increasing competition in the EV market, and Mr. Musk’s takeover of Twitter. The billionaire also runs rocket company SpaceX.

“It doesn’t feel like they’re really adequately standing up to the CEO," said Ivan Frishberg, chief sustainability officer at Amalgamated Bank, which manages investments in Tesla and signed an April letter calling on board members to improve their “meager oversight" of Mr. Musk.

In a video released ahead of the meeting, Ms. Denholm, who chairs the board, described the group as “dedicated and engaged."

Mr. Musk, asked by an investor whether he was considering stepping down as Tesla CEO, said he wasn’t.

Tesla has lost nearly half of its market value since its last annual meeting, in August 2022, when interest rates were lower and demand more robust. A recent wave of price cuts contributed to a 24% decline in first-quarter profit. Tesla has signaled that it intends to remain aggressive with pricing, testing investors’ willingness to back growth over profit. The EV maker remains the world’s most valuable car company, valued at more than $500 billion.

Mr. Musk joked about how he has been an advertising naysayer for years and now owns a social-media company that relies on ads.

“I guess I should say ‘advertising is awesome and everyone should do it,’" he said, adding that Tesla would “try a little advertising and see how it goes."

Later on Tuesday, Mr. Musk said Tesla was facing limits in China, a key market for the carmaker. “There are some constraints on our ability to expand in China," Mr. Musk said in a CNBC interview after the shareholder event. “We’re making as many cars as we can. It’s not a demand issue," he said, without specifying the barriers to expansion.

Mr. Musk also suggested he expected Beijing to make good on a commitment to integrate Taiwan into China. Taiwan is a self-ruled island that China claims as its own. “There’s some inevitability to the situation," Mr. Musk said.

Mr. Straubel succeeds independent director Hiromichi Mizuno, former chief investment officer of Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund.

Shareholders rejected a proposal asking Tesla to prepare and maintain a report on what is known as its key-person risk that sought clarity about succession planning. Tesla urged investors to vote against that proposal.