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<\/a>In 1997, Elon and his brother Kimbal founded a software company named Zip2. They sold it two years later to the computer company Compaq for $340 million. Not bad for only two years work and the beginning of a career.<\/p>\nIn 1999, Elon created an online banking firm named X.com. The next year it merged with Confinity, which became PayPal. In 2002, they sold it to eBay for $1.5 billion. That same year Musk founded an aerospace company named SpaceX.\u00a0 In 2004, Musk became a multiple owner and CEO of Tesla Inc., an electric automobile manufacturer. Tesla also became an energy company when it acquired SolarCity, which manufactures solar panels.<\/p>\n
Tesla has been on an upward tear since June and is the talk of Wall Street because its stock price has nearly quadrupled since then. Tesla and Apple are the most shorted stocks (bet against) in the world. So, Tesla is an extremely controversial company. It\u2019s because Tesla is leading the automotive industry to go from the combustion engine that burns gasoline, which pollutes the atmosphere, to battery-operated vehicles which result in a much less polluted atmosphere.<\/p>\n
It has been a very uphill battle for Tesla. Musk admitted last year that Tesla was close to bankruptcy in 2018. But the company just reported its first two successive quarters of profitability. That is mostly what has shot the stock price up. But it\u2019s also because Tesla just finished building a gigafactory in China, and it\u2019s starting to build another in Germany.<\/p>\n
Other top auto manufacturers are following suit in building their own electric vehicles. But Tesla is estimated to be at least two years ahead of them in battery technology, which is the main issue. Some have likened the projected transfer from combustion engine vehicles to electric vehicles to the industrial revolution. As an owner of Tesla stock for a few years now, I believe at least that Tesla is causing a significant revolution in the automobile industry.<\/p>\n
For the past few years, SpaceX has been NASA\u2019s main transport to the International Space Station. And Musk\u2019s favorite dream of all is that SpaceX is working towards sending astronauts to Mars by the mid-2030s, which is a NASA goal as well.<\/p>\n
Elon Musk\u2019s net worth is now almost $40 billion, putting him among the top 30 richest people in the world. And he being acknowledged for his innovation. In 2016, Forbes magazine listed Musk as 21st on its list of the World\u2019s Most Powerful People. And in 2019, Forbes listed Musk 1st on its list of the World\u2019s Most Innovative Leaders. Musk can be a controversial figure in his own right. But at least just about everyone acknowledges, including President Trump recently, that Elon Musk is a \u201cgenius.\u201d But I don\u2019t think Trump has said yet that Elon is \u201ca stable genius\u201d like him.<\/p>\n
So, what did Charlie Munger say about Elon Musk at the Wednesday shareholders meeting of the Los Angeles-based Daily Journal newspaper, of which he is a board member? \u201cMy thoughts are two,\u201d Munger said of Musk. \u201cI would never buy it,\u201d referring to Tesla stock, \u201cand I would never sell it short,\u201d meaning invest against it.<\/p>\n
Munger then added, \u201cI have a third comment. Never underestimate the man who overestimates himself. I think Elon Musk is peculiar, and he may overestimate himself, but he may not be wrong all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is not the only time Charlie Munger has spoken out rather critically of Elon Musk. At the 2019 shareholders meeting of the Daily Journal, Munger said of Musk, \u201cI want the guy to who understands his limitations instead of the guy who doesn\u2019t. On the other hand, I\u2019ve learned something terribly important in life. . . . These weird guys who overestimate themselves occasionally knock it right out of the park.\u201d What! Musk has been knocking it out of the park just about every time. But with a car company, it takes longer than some software company.<\/p>\n
Munger continued at that time about Musk, \u201cI don\u2019t want my personal life to be\u201d surrounded by \u201ca bunch of guys who are living a state of delusion, who happen occasionally to win big. I want the prudent person.\u201d<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been following Elon Musk\u2019s career for a few years now. What has he said that indicates he overestimates himself? And when has he been wrong in the business world so much of the time? Musk just keeps proving himself more and more than just about anyone predicts about his innovative ideas.<\/p>\n
Sure, Elon says things sometimes that are undiplomatic. And he got himself in trouble with the SEC about claiming he had investors to take Tesla private at $420 per Tesla share. He overstepped the truth, there, by thinking the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia was his committed investor. The SEC slapped Musk\u2019s wrist by fining him $20 million (small potatoes for Musk) and removing him from Tesla\u2019s board for three years. Yet last week, Tesla\u2019s stock went to $968 per share only 18 months after Musk popped off about that $420 per share commitment.<\/p>\n
And Elon Musk calling the swimming diver, Vern Unsworth, who saved those kids in the Thailand cave a \u201cpedo-guy\u201d got me so upset with him that it caused me to immediately sell some of my Tesla stock the next day. Yet Musk recently won the lawsuit for defamation of character that Mr. Unsworth brought against him for that remark. (The media had under reported that Unsworth previously had unjustly and verbally attacked Musk, which no doubt elicited Musk\u2019s remark.)<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not endorsing Elon Musk\u2019s lifestyle or anything like that. I\u2019m just saying that the guy is really changing our world\u2019s physical environment for the better, and he should be recognized for it. And he sure is going with his ideas where no man has gone before.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ninety-six year old Charlie Munger is the Vice-chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and the close, long-time friend of its Chairman Warren Buffet. These two guys are supposedly America\u2019s best stock pickers for at least the past fifty years. Wednesday, Munger was asked what he thought about 48-year old Elon Musk. We\u2019ll get to Munger\u2019s answer, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1477,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[5001,4057,5004],"class_list":["post-11693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-events","tag-charlie-munger","tag-elon-musk","tag-tesla"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a>Ninety-six year old Charlie Munger is the Vice-chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and the close, long-time friend of its Chairman Warren Buffet. These two guys are supposedly America\u2019s best stock pickers for at least the past fifty years. Wednesday, Munger was asked what he thought about 48-year old Elon Musk. We\u2019ll get to Munger\u2019s answer, later. First, let\u2019s take a brief look at Elon Musk.<\/p>\n