Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) CEO Warren Buffett is one of the most successful and well-respected investors of all time, and Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) is one of the most controversial investments on Wall Street these days.
So when Buffett sat down with Yahoo Finance for an interview in 2020, it’s only natural that editor-in-chief Andy Serwer would ask Buffett about Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk.
Berkshire has never invested in Tesla, but the company held $6.1 billion of Chinese electric vehicle stock BYD Company ADR (OTC:BYDDY) and $2.2 billion of General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) stock as of the end of 2021.
When Serwer asked Buffett’s opinion of Musk, Buffett chose his words carefully.
“Well, I think you're trying to bait me a little bit,” Buffett said. “He’s done some remarkable things.”
See Also: 7 Times Elon Musk Wasn't Afraid To Speak His Mind
Buffett’s History With Musk
Buffett went on to say that he has met Musk in person after Musk joined the Giving Pledge several years ago. The Giving Pledge is a campaign organized by Buffett and former Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) CEO Bill Gates created to encourage the world’s wealthiest individuals to donate the majority of their wealth to philanthropic causes.
According to Forbes, Buffett’s net worth is approximately $113.6 billion, while Musk’s is roughly $239.9 billion.
“I've only met him once or twice, but yeah, I've talked with him, but not for quite a while,” Buffett said of Musk.
But when it came down to the million-dollar question of whether or not Buffett would invest in Tesla stock, the Oracle of Omaha kept his answer short and sweet.
“No,” Buffett said.
Charlie Rose also asked Buffett about Musk in a 2022 interview, and Buffett praised his accomplishments at Tesla.
"I mean, Elon, didn't--he's taking on General Motors, Ford, Toyota, all these people who've got all the stuff, and he's got an idea. And he's winning. That's America. You can't dream it up. It's astounding," Buffett said.
As for Musk, he has been critical of Buffett in the past, once calling his value investing style "lame" on a Tesla earnings call.
"To be totally frank, I’m not his biggest fan, but he does a lot of capital allocation. He reads a lot of annual reports and accounting, and it’s pretty boring really," Musk said of Buffett on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast.
Benzinga’s Take
It’s not surprising Buffett is not a fan of Tesla given he has always taken a value investing approach to the market and shied away from high-growth stocks with high earnings multiples. Tesla investors shoudn’t take it personally given Buffett has never invested in stocks like Alphabet, Inc.(NASDAQ:GOOGL) or Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) either.
Do you agree with this take? Email feedback@benzinga.com with your thoughts.
Public domain photo via Wikimedia.
Original publication: 2020-05-02
