AP
- Tesla’s stock price has more than doubled since January, boosting Elon Musk’s net worth by more than $15 billion.
- The electric carmaker’s CEO complained about its volatility last year, calling it a “a bit of a distraction.”
- Musk also invoked Warren Buffett to downplay the significance of Tesla’s share price at the time.
- Yet he tweeted three fire emojis on Monday, suggesting he’s thrilled with the stock rally.
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Tesla‘s stock price has more than doubled since the start of January, boosting Elon Musk’s net worth by more than $15 billion and making him one of the 25 richest people in the world. The electric carmaker’s cofounder and CEO was complaining about the shares’ volatility less than a year ago.
Musk felt the stock price was “being set in kind of a manic depressive way,” he said on Tesla’s earnings call last April, when its shares had dropped to $260 — less than a third of their current price. “It’s a bit of a distraction at times.”
The Tesla and SpaceX chief invoked another billionaire CEO to downplay the significance of Tesla’s stock price.
“I think Warren Buffett’s analogy is … being a publicly traded company is like having someone stand at the edge of your home and just randomly yell different prices for your house every day,” Musk said on the call. “It’s still the same house.”
If Musk was consistent in his view, he wouldn’t be trumpeting Tesla’s current stock rally. Yet he tweeted a trio of fire emojis on Monday, suggesting he’s thrilled with the run up.
Musk and Buffett have crossed paths before. The Berkshire Hathaway boss told Yahoo Finance last year that Musk was “a remarkable guy,” but added that he had “room for improvement” and could be more discerning with his Twitter posts.
Moreover, after Musk dismissed enduring competitive advantages by saying “moats are lame” on a Tesla earnings call in May 2018, Buffett responded at Berkshire’s annual shareholder meeting a few days later.
“Elon may turn things upside down in some areas. I don’t think he’d want to take us on in candy,” he said, referring to See’s Candies, one of his favorite businesses.
“I’m starting a candy company & it’s going to be amazing,” Musk jokingly tweeted in reply.
