Elon Musk has differentiated himself from Warren Buffett, claiming that he produces and builds things rather than trading stocks and moving money around.
During Tesla’s third-quarter results call on Wednesday, the CEO was asked if he saw value in forming a parent or “umbrella” firm similar to Google-owner Alphabet. The holding firm would consolidate his enterprises, which include SpaceX, Neuralink, and Twitter.
Musk said there was little overlap between his businesses and ridiculed the concept of imitating Berkshire Hathaway. Buffett’s conglomerate controls several companies, including See’s Candies, Geico, and Precision Castparts. It also owns billions of dollars in Apple, Coca-Cola, and other publicly traded corporations.
“I’m not Warren Buffett,” Musk said on the call. “I’m not an investor. I am an engineer and manufacturing person and a technologist.
“I actually work and design and develop products,” he continued. “We’re not going have a portfolio of investments or whatever.”
Musk has previously targeted Buffett and his profession, which entails evaluating undervalued companies and distributing funds inside Berkshire Hathaway.
“I’m not Warren Buffett’s biggest fan, frankly,” Musk said last year. “He sits there and reads all these annual reports, which are super boring.”
“He’s trying to figure out: ‘Does Coke or Pepsi deserve more capital?'” Musk said on another occasion. “It’s kind of a boring job, if you ask me.”
On the other hand, Musk has recognized Buffett’s enormous talent and the importance of his work to the economy. He has also mentioned the investor on previous earnings calls.
Similarly, Buffett has lauded Tesla’s unusual success and labeled Musk as a “amazing man” who should be more selective with his Twitter remarks.
The pair’s most famous spat was over candy. In 2018, after Musk called Buffett’s theory of competitive moats “lame,” the Berkshire CEO remarked, “Elon may turn things upside down in some areas. I don’t think he’d want to take us on in candy.”
“I’m starting a candy company & it’s going to be amazing,” Musk tweeted. He subsequently tried and failed to formulate a candy that was far superior to the competition.