Tesla (TSLA) Chief Executive Elon Musk on Sunday suggested that Warren Buffett should invest in the EV giant, after the "Oracle of Omaha" addressed Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) efforts during Berkshire Hathaway's (BRKB) annual shareholder meeting. TSLA shares advanced Monday.
↑XNOW PLAYINGTesla Is Struggling. Here's What Elon Musk Is Betting On For Future Growth.
Billionaire Warren Buffett commented over the weekend on the potential risk that auto insurers, such as Berkshire's Geico, could face if Elon Musk and Tesla succeed in their automated driving endeavor.
"If accidents get reduced by 50%, it's going to be good for society and it's going to be bad for insurance companies' volume," Buffett said. "But good for society is what we're looking for."
Berkshire Hathaway Executive Ajit Jain added during the annual meeting that while Tesla feels the number of auto accidents come down because of its technology, repair costs of each accident could go up.
"If you multiply the number of accidents times the cost of each accident, I'm not sure that total number has come down as much as Tesla would like us to believe," Jain said. He added that Tesla insurance so far "hasn't been much of a success."
"Time will tell but I think automation just shifts a lot of the expense from the operator to the equipment provider," Jain said.
Warren Buffett And Elon Musk
Following these comments, Elon Musk posted on X, formerly Twitter, that Warren Buffett "should take a position in Tesla."
"It's an obvious move." Musk said.
Buffett is a longtime investor in China-based Tesla rival BYD (BYDDF) but so far has decided against investing in Tesla. Warren Buffett has slashed his BYD holdings in the past couple of years but still holds a significant stake.
Tesla stock gained 2% to 184.76 during market trade on Monday. On Friday, shares advanced 0.7% to 181.19.
Elon Musk And Tesla Focus On AI
During Tesla's recent earnings call, Musk spent plenty of time touting FSD, autonomy and artificial intelligence.
Tesla also recently recast full self-driving from FSD Beta to supervised FSD. The EV giant reported it would recognize deferred revenue of $281 million by the end of Q1, according to regulatory filings.
"The way to think of Tesla is almost entirely in terms of solving autonomy and being able to turn on that autonomy for a gigantic fleet," Elon Musk said on the earnings call.
Musk later added that "if somebody doesn't believe Tesla is going to solve autonomy, I think they should not be an investor in the company."
Tesla's free cash flow also went negative to the tune of $2.5 billion in Q1, as Tesla spent $1 billion on "AI infrastructure."
Tesla Stock Performance
TSLA shares jumped 7.7% last week to 181.19 after soaring 14.4% in the prior week. Tesla stock jumped 15.3% to 194.05 last Monday, making a decisive move above a key resistance level after regulators in China tentatively approved the introduction of FSD.
Since Tesla reported first-quarter earnings and revenue on April 23, TSLA shares have now gained about 25%. Tesla stock hit 52-week lows of 138.80 on April 22. Shares are still down 27.1% in 2024 as of May 3.
After rallying following Q1 earnings, Tesla stock has advanced past resistance at its 10-week moving average, according to MarketSurge analysis.
Tesla had struggled to retake this level for much of 2024.
Tesla stock ranks eighth in the 35-member IBD Auto Manufacturers industry group. The stock has a 41 Composite Rating out of a best-possible 99. Tesla stock also has a 21 Relative Strength Rating and a 62 EPS Rating.
Please follow Kit Norton on X, formerly known as Twitter, @KitNorton for more coverage.
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FAQs
Warren Buffett should buy Tesla stock, according to Elon Musk. "He should take a position in Tesla. It's an obvious move," Musk tweeted about Buffett on Sunday, in response to a tweet that suggested Berkshire Hathaway should sell its entire $135 billion stake in Apple and instead purchase Tesla.
Is Warren Buffett going to buy Tesla stock? ›
Buffett hasn't invested in Tesla, but he holds Musk in high regard. He called him “a brilliant, brilliant guy” at Berkshire's annual shareholders meeting in 2023. Buffett also noted, “We don't want to compete with Elon in a lot of things.” Buffett's late right-hand man, Charlie Munger, concurred.
What did Bill Gates say about Tesla stock? ›
In 2022, Gates confirmed to Musk biographer Walter Isaacson that he shorted Tesla stock — or bet that the stock price would dip.
What did Elon Musk say about Warren Buffett? ›
'I'm not his biggest fan': Elon Musk says Warren Buffett's way of getting rich is 'pretty boring' He has challenged Mark Zuckerberg to a cage fight, lashed out at Mark Cuban and mocked Bill Gates' appearance.
How much of Tesla stock is owned by Elon Musk? ›
A who's who of Tesla stockholders
While Elon Musk owned about 13% of Tesla stock as of Dec. 31, Kimbal Musk owned 1,608,720 shares, representing approximately 0.05%, as of April 2024. A Tesla board member for the past 20 years, Kimbal Musk also sits on the board of another of his brother's ventures, SpaceX.
What 4 stocks is Warren Buffett buying? ›
Which stocks is Warren Buffett buying?
| Company name & symbol | Percent change in share count over last quarter |
|---|
| Chubb Limited (CB) | New |
| Liberty SiriusXM Group — Series A (LSXMA) | 62% |
| Liberty SiriusXM Group — Series C (LSXMK) | 52% |
| Occidental Petroluem Corp. (OXY) | 2% |
May 22, 2024
The Berkshire Hathaway portfolio
| Company | Shares held | Percent of portfolio |
|---|
| Kraft Heinz (KHC) | 325,634,818 | 3.62% |
| Moody's (MCO) | 24,669,778 | 2.92% |
| Chubb (CB) | 25,923,840 | 2.03% |
| DaVita (DVA) | 36,095,570 | 1.50% |
37 more rowsBut things turned sour in a hurry when the subject of Gates shorting Tesla stock came up. Isaacson wrote that Gates had placed a big bet that Tesla stock would drop in value, and when he turned out to be wrong, he had lost about $1.5 billion by the time of their meeting.
Why is Tesla stock so strong? ›
Recent positive catalysts accelerating investor momentum into Tesla stock include last month's vote to reinstate a historic pay package for Musk that optimists believe should keep Musk engaged with the company, and last week's announcement it delivered more vehicles in the second quarter than analysts had forecasted.
Has Elon Musk ever met Bill Gates? ›
Bill Gates went to see Elon Musk in 2022, hoping to convince the fellow billionaire to give away more of his money – the way the Microsoft founder had. The meeting went sideways, according to Walter Isaacson's new biography, “Elon Musk,” which hits stores Tuesday.
"The value of Tesla overwhelmingly is autonomy," Musk said when asked on the company's conference call Tuesday about how the potential for fewer electric vehicle tax credits could impact Tesla's business. "These other things are in the noise relative to autonomy."
What does Elon Musk say about being rich? ›
But Musk said people shouldn't get upset with the super-rich just because they are rich. “In terms of things I think people should perhaps get upset about… I think… excess consumption is a thing to get upset about, you know, somebody just wasting money on personal luxuries in a crazy way,” he said.
How much of Warren Buffett's portfolio is cash? ›
But in general, we can still see the preference of Warren Buffett at different periods. Currently Berkshire has about 63% of its liquid asset in Equity Securities (Stocks), 34% in Cash and Cash Equivalents (Cash), and 3% in Fixed Maturity Securities (Bonds).
Who is Tesla's biggest shareholder? ›
Tesla is the world's most valuable auto manufacturer, with a market capitalization of $611 billion. CEO Elon Musk is by far the largest shareholder, with over 20% of the company's equity. Besides Musk, the largest shareholders are asset management companies like BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street.
Who owns the most Tesla cars? ›
Key Takeaways. Elon Musk is the largest individual Tesla shareholder, holding 715.022 million shares, representing 20.6 of Tesla ownership.
Does China own Tesla? ›
Tesla, Inc. Unique among foreign automakers in China, the plant is wholly owned by Tesla and not operated as a joint venture with a Chinese company, the first time the government had allowed such an arrangement. While Tesla owns the factory, it does not own the land it is built on, as is typical in China.
How high will Tesla stock go? ›
Average Price Target
Based on 30 Wall Street analysts offering 12 month price targets for Tesla in the last 3 months. The average price target is $213.92 with a high forecast of $310.00 and a low forecast of $115.00. The average price target represents a -13.17% change from the last price of $246.38.
Why not to buy Tesla stock? ›
Key Takeaways. The electric vehicle (EV) maker, Tesla, has a number of key risks that it will face in the next 5-10 years. Notable risks include Tesla cars being too expensive with tax breaks and that the construction of its Gigafactory (battery factory) taking longer than expected.
Who holds the most Tesla stock? ›
CEO Elon Musk is by far the largest shareholder, with over 20% of the company's equity. Besides Musk, the largest shareholders are asset management companies like BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street.
Is Tesla a buy or sell? ›
The Bottom Line on Tesla Stock
Out of 33 analysts covering TSLA, seven recommend a “strong buy,” two suggest a “moderate buy,” 16 have a “hold,” and eight have a “strong sell.” This results in a consensus rating of “hold.”
