In a conference with analysts at the end of April this year, Musk confirmed Tesla was working on a new insurance policy for its own vehicles.
Musk said in Manager Magazin that the product will be “more overwhelming than anything else out there”, and also explained that, for autopilot, insurance rates would be measured based on current driving behavior.
However, there are some who don’t share Musk’s enthusiasm for Tesla’s new plans — most notably, Warren Buffett.
Last weekend, tens of thousands of shareholders gathered in Nebraska for the 88-year-old’s annual shareholder’s meeting, often dubbed the “Woodstock of Capitalism”. During the meeting, Buffett wasn’t shy about criticizing Musk’s plans.
“The success of the auto companies getting into the insurance business is probably as likely as the success of the insurance companies getting into the auto business,” Buffett said to CNBC.
Read more: Why Elon Musk’s plan to give us ‘superhuman’ brains is doomed to fail
Unimpressed by the ambitious claims, Buffett chimed in, saying: “I’d bet against any company in the auto business” getting into insurance, according to CNBC.
Buffett knows his way around the industry, with roughly a third of Berkshire Hathaway’s investments in the insurance business.
But Elon Musk wouldn’t be Elon Musk if he didn’t respond directly to the criticism on Twitter — Musk tweeted to hit back at Buffet’s remarks, saying that the billionaire secretly loved Tesla.
The Tesla CEO tweeted a link to order the Tesla Model 3, encouraging followers to order it and highlighting that it was cheaper than a Honda Accord. He then continued, claiming that a Tesla is “also 1,000 times more fun” than a Honda Accord, ultimately teasing that that was a direct quote from Warren Buffett (which it wasn’t):
Warren Buffett and Elon Musk have had some strong things to say about one another in the public sphere but haven’t really exchanged with one another directly over Twitter.
“He has room for improvement,” Buffett said to Yahoo Finance in April while speaking about Musk, “I just don’t see the necessity to communicate [on Twitter].”
Musk was already poking fun at Buffett in a Tesla earnings call last year. The Berkshire billionaire believes the “most important” factor in picking a successful investment is assessing the durability of a company’s competitive advantage or “moat.”
Musk said at the time: “I think moats are lame.”
According to CNBC, Buffett quipped back: “Elon may turn things upside down in some areas. I don’t think he’d want to take us on in candy,” to which Musk retorted that he did intend to get involved in the candy scene.
“I’m going to start a candy business, and it’s going to be unique,” he said.