Elon Musk warned of Cybertruck headaches, consumers' debt woes, and a 'stormy' economic backdrop on Tesla's earnings call. Here are his 14 best quotes.

• Elon Musk tackled a wide range of topics during Tesla's third-quarter earnings call on Wednesday.
• The EV pioneer discussed Optimus, Cybertruck, cutting costs, working from home, and exercise.

Elon Musk touched on everything from "The Terminator" and "Game of Thrones" to "The Wizard of Oz" and Marie Antoinette during Tesla's third-quarter earnings call on Wednesday.

The world's richest man and CEO of the electric-vehicle maker underscored the difficulties of scaling Cybertruck production, touted Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot over Boston Dynamics' mechanical dogs, and trumpeted his cost-cutting efforts, according to a transcript provided by AlphaSense/Sentieo.

Musk also raised concerns about the uncertain macroeconomic backdrop, flagged pressures in the banking and commercial real estate sectors, slammed work-from-home evangelists as delusional, and joked that he prefers gaming to working out.

Here are Musk's 14 best quotes, lightly edited for length and clarity:

1. "We dug our own grave with Cybertruck. Nobody digs a grave better than themselves."

2. "I don't think anyone is going to do it better than Tesla, not by a long shot. Boston Dynamics is impressive, but their robot lacks a brain. They're like 'The Wizard of Oz' or whatever."

3. "We need to make sure that it's a good place for humans in that future, we do not create some variance of 'The Terminator' outcome." (Musk was discussing the risks attached to developing AI, and underscoring the need for a physical kill switch on robots.)

4. "Optimus, a year ago, could barely walk and now it can do yoga. So, a few years from now, it can probably do ballet."

5. "It's like 'Game of Thrones' but pennies. It is a game of pennies." (Musk was describing Tesla's focus on cutting the cost of car parts by even a few cents.)

6. "It does feel like digging a tunnel with a spoon at times." (Musk was referring to Tesla's cost-saving efforts.)

7. "People are reading about wars all over the world. Buying a new car tends to not be front of mind."

8. "I am still somewhat scarred by 2009, when General Motors and Chrysler went bankrupt. While that's now 14 years ago, that is seared into my mind with a branding iron because Tesla was just hanging on by a thread during that entire time. I don't want to be going at top speed into uncertainty."

9. "I apologize if I'm perhaps more paranoid than I should be. I have PTSD from 2009, big time. And 2017 through '19 were no picnic either. That was very tough going."

10. "Tesla is an incredibly capable ship, but we need to make sure if the macroeconomic conditions are stormy — even the best ship is still going to have tough times. The weaker ships will sink. We're not going to sink. But even a great ship in a storm has challenges. Now, that storm will apply to everyone, not just us and not just the auto industry, apart from necessary staples like food and stuff."

11. "There are a number of people who simply cannot get credit, period. Even if they've got a job and everything is solid, the banks are a little gun-shy on handing out credit, given that a bunch of them kicked the bucket earlier this year." (Musk was describing the ongoing credit crunch, partly sparked by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and other regional lenders earlier this year.)

12. "A lot of regional banks have died. Even Credit Suisse — geez, that was a shocker. You've got a 160-year-old-ish Swiss institution that doesn't exist anymore. That's mind-blowing. And I think there's still quite a few shoes to drop on the bad credit situation. Commercial real estate obviously is in terrible shape."

13. "These are some real Marie Antoinette vibes from people who say, 'Why isn't everyone working from home?' What about all the people that have to come to the factory and build the cars, or all the people that have to go to the restaurant and make your food and deliver your food? How detached from reality does the work-from-home crowd have to be, while they take advantage of all those who cannot work from home?

14. "I don't love working out. I wish I did, but I don't. Unless moving the mouse consists of working out, in which case, I love moving the mouse." (Musk was nodding to his love of video games.)