- Legendary investor Warren Buffett praised
Tesla CEOElon Musk in an interview that aired Thursday. - "He's winning. That's America. You can't dream it up," Buffett said.
You can count Warren Buffett as another of Elon Musk's admirers, it seems.
Buffett had several positive comments about the Tesla and SpaceX CEO during an interview with television journalist Charlie Rose, who posted the interview on his website Thursday.
(Rose was fired from CBS in 2017 and has been accused by at least 27 women of sexual harassment.)
Rose asked Buffett about Musk, noting Tesla's market value compared to competitors, and Buffett responded with the following:
"That shows what America produces. 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.
Buffett had previously been more circumspect about Musk, criticizing him in 2018 for taking on large auto companies.
"People like his car and everything," he said in the 2018 interview. "He's trying something to improve a product… And I salute him for that, and the American public will decide whether it's a success. And it's not easy."
In an interview that aired April 2020, Buffett said he would not invest in Tesla, even though he thought he has done some "remarkable things."
In the interview with Rose, Buffett discussed a range of topics, from the possibility of World War III to how he structures his day.
He said he usually wakes up a little before 7 am, watches the news, and then tells his CFO, Marc Hamburg, to conduct sometimes billions of dollars in trades each day.
Musk is currently attempting to acquire Twitter, which could have a host of ramifications.
(Catch up on the Elon Musk and Twitter saga here.)
Tesla, the luxury electric car and clean energy company, was actually worth more than five of its top competitors in October 2021: Toyota, Volkswagen, Daimler, Ford, and General Motors, per Reuters.
This was Rose's first on-camera interview in more than four years, he said on his website.
In 2020, two of Rose's employees sued Bloomberg and said it was liable for Rose creating an environment where he could harass women. (Bloomberg provided studio space for Rose's long-running talk show that aired on PBS and Bloomberg TV.)
In a deposition from court documents filed that same year, Rose said he understood his relationships with women in the workplace were "inappropriate."
Allegations against Rose emerged during the #metoo movement, and he settled with three women in 2018 for an undisclosed amount.
Berkshire Hathaway, where Buffett is CEO, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.