Renowned investor Warren Buffett during the annual meeting of his Berkshire Hathaway has torn into Musk’s recent comment on his belief in economic moats, triggering a proper billionaire trolling war.
Musk took aim at one of Buffett’s concepts, which means a business advantage over its competitors, which protects its long-term profits, during an earnings call for Tesla, saying that “moats are lame.”
“They’re like nice in a sort of quaint, vestigial way. But if your only defense against invading armies is a moat, you will not last long. What matters is the pace of innovation. That is the fundamental determinant of competitiveness,” the Tesla owner stated.
Buffett then lambasted his rival, giving him paternal advice on business.
“Certainly you should be working on improving your own moat and defending your own moat all the time,” said Buffett.
The investment patriarch pointed out that some businesses with moats are still doing pretty well like the See’s Candies unit owned by Berkshire and hinted that Musk should stay away from challenging the field.
“Elon may turn things upside down in some areas. I don’t think he’d want to take us on in candy. There are some pretty good moats around,” he said.
The reverse effect was achieved, as Musk immediately reacted with a series of Tweets and accepted the challenge, revealing his plans to enter the sweets business.
I’m starting a candy company & it’s going to be amazing
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 5 мая 2018 г.
For those who didn’t believe that he’s serious that he’s going to crack this candy, he tweeted:
I am super super serious
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 5 мая 2018 г.
He then immediately conducted marketing research on the new brand, born in his Twitter offensive…
Ok ok, just for sake of argument, what do u wish for in candy? 🍭
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 5 мая 2018 г.
…and suggested his variant, mocking Buffett’s hatred for cryptocurrencies.
Cryptocandy
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 5 мая 2018 г.
As it often gets with sweets for many people, he just couldn’t stop, praising his own sense of humor.
Then I’m going to build a moat & fill it w candy. Warren B will not be able to resist investing! Berkshire Hathaway kryptonite …
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 6 мая 2018 г.
However, after having fun, he returned to a serious pace.
Saying you like “moats” is just a nice way of saying you like oligopolies
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 6 мая 2018 г.
It’s not the first time Musk has gone wild on Twitter, setting the media platform ablaze. On April 1, he jokingly announced Tesla’s bankruptcy. He later posted a picture of himself pretending to be passed out with his head on a Tesla Model 3 while holding a sign that read “Bankwupt!”
READ MORE: Guess How Much Cash Musk's Tesla Burns Per Minute?
Although Musk’s Space X has marked 2018 with a historic launch of the Falcon rocket carrier, Tesla shares plunged by 22 percent in March, the steepest monthly drop since December 2010, the year the company went public. Last week, Moody's Investors Service cut Tesla's credit rating further to junk status, sending its bonds to all-time lows.
