Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) Elon Musk on Wednesday called out Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) Vice Chair Charlie Munger for his discouraging words over a decade ago that listed all the ways the billionaire entrepreneur’s electric vehicle venture would fail.
What Happened: Musk replied to a social media post that pointed out Munger's latest harsh views towards cryptocurrency at a media event.
The 98-year old value investor and Warren Buffett’s right-hand man had on Wednesday said he is proud to have not invested in cryptocurrency, adding that it should be “banned” and likened it to a “venereal disease.”
Musk compared Munger’s latest comments with a 2009 incident when the legendary investor “told the whole table” at a lunch meeting on “all the ways Tesla would fail.”
The world’s richest man said Munger’s comments left him sad but he agreed with the veteron investor at the time. “We would probably die, but it was worth trying anyway,” Musk purportedly told the Berkshire vice chair. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO did not provide more details of the incident.
Why It Matters: Munger has criticized cryptocurrency before. He had in February last year said he hates the Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) success.
“I don't welcome a currency that's so useful to kidnappers and extortionists and so forth,” he had said at the time.
Surprisingly, Buffett-controlled Berkshire had in the fourth quarter of 2021 initiated a position in the Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC)-friendly Brazilian bank Nu Holdings Ltd (NYSE:NU) while dumping shares of Visa Inc (NYSE:V) and Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA).
The company led by the Oracle of Omaha bought $1 billion worth of Nubank shares in the fourth quarter of 2021 and sold $1.8 billion and $1.3 billion worth of Visa and Mastercard stock.
Musk had last year disclosed a $1.5 billion investment in Bitcoin and began accepting the cryptocurrency as payment for its vehicles before halting the initiative in May.
Price Action: Tesla shares closed 0.1% higher at $923.39 a share on Wednesday.
Photo: Courtesy of Nvidia Corp. on Flickr
