Elon Musk recalls billionaire Charlie Munger describing 'all the ways Tesla would fail'

Elon Musk described an incident with Charlie Munger in 2009.

Tesla chief Elon Musk recalled the time when billionaire investor Charlie Munger described “all the ways” in which his electric car company would fail.

Charlie Munger, 98, is the vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate controlled by Warren Buffett.

The incident took place in 2009 when Musk was at a lunch with Munger, when the latter told everyone in the room that Tesla would fail, a statement which hurt Musk.

“I was at a lunch with Munger in 2009 where he told the whole table all the ways Tesla would fail. Made me quite sad, but I told him I agreed with all those reasons and that we would probably die, but it was worth trying anyway,” Musk narrated on Twitter.

I was at a lunch with Munger in 2009 where he told the whole table all the ways Tesla would fail.

Made me quite sad, but I told him I agreed with all those reasons & that we would probably die, but it was worth trying anyway.

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— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 16, 2022

Munger on Wednesday reiterated his extremely hostile stance on cryptocurrency during the annual general meeting of Los Angeles-based publication Daily Journal, a company he has helmed since 1977.

Noting Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as "beneath contempt", Munger went as far as deeming the main use for this "apparent modernity" as being limited to "extortion, kidnappings and tax evasion".

Wishing it had been banned immediately, he said he admired China for immediately banning it while acknowledging that "we (US) were wrong to allow it". Expressing pride over never having invested in cryptocurrencies himself, Munger considered cryptos as nothing more than "venereal disease".

Tesla is today the world's most valuable auto brand With rising demand for electric vehicles, the company reported a record $5.5 billion profit in 2021.

Elon Musk overtook Jeff Bezos to become the world's richest person in 2021.

Tesla scored an 87 per cent jump in auto deliveries last year in spite of the global semiconductor shortage, reported a 71 per cent rise in revenues to $53.8 billion.

The company has been ramping up production at factories in California and Shanghai, while also building new facilities in Germany and Texas. Tesla said it began building Model Y vehicles in Texas in late 2021, while it started equipment testing in Germany around the same time.