Attack when you still have the advantage, goes a popular saying.
Such is Elon Musk's current mindset vis-à-vis legendary investors Warren Buffett, 92, and Charlie Munger, 99.
Buffett and Munger, who are respectively chairman and vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, (BRK.A) (BRK.B) praised Musk at the annual meeting on May 6. The laudatory remarks appeared like a handover between the old guard and the new guard of American capitalism.
"I have a question for Charlie [Munger] regarding statement you made in the past," a shareholder from Toronto said. "You once mentioned that you would prefer to hire someone with IQ of 130 who believes is 120, over someone with IQ of 150 who thinks is 170. I understand that you were referring to Elon Musk. Given the recent success of his ventures such as Tesla, SpaceX and Starlink, I'm curious to know if you still hold the view that Elon Musk overestimates himself?"
Musk Is a 'Brilliant, Brilliant Guy': Buffett
The response was a profusion of compliments that any CEO and entrepreneur would dream of.
"Yes, I think Elon Musk overestimates himself, but he is very talented so he's overestimating somebody who doesn't need to overestimate to be very talented," Munger responded.
Buffett chimed in.
"Elon is a brilliant, brilliant guy and I would say that he might score over 170, but he dreams about things and his dreams have got a foundation."
For Munger, Musk "would not have achieved what he has in life if he hadn't tried for unreasonably extreme objectives."
He concluded by saying that he and Buffett wouldn't compare to Musk because “he likes taking on the impossible job and doing it. We're different. Warren and I are looking for the easy job that we can identify."
The image of Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger praising Elon Musk is perhaps an acknowledgment that the tech mogul is the new pioneer of business on this side of the Atlantic.
Musk understood this since he immediately thanked the two billionaires.
"Appreciate the kind words from Warren & Charlie," the billionaire said on Twitter on May 6.
'I Will Ask Warren & Charlie'
He wants to prolong this special moment by asking a favor from the two investors.
The idea was suggested to him by a Twitter user commenting on a short video of when Buffett and Munger bring up the billionaire. Basically, Musk is going to ask Buffett and Munger to do a live video conversation with him on Twitter.
"Do a spaces,” the account with which Musk regularly interacts on the platform commented.
Musk immediately seized on that suggestion.
"That would be awesome,” he responded. “I suspect they will say no, but I will ask Warren & Charlie."
Spaces is a way to have live audio conversations on Twitter, the platform says. Anyone can join, listen, and speak in a Space on Twitter for iOS and Android. Currently you can listen in a Space on the web.
The prospect of an unfiltered exchange between Musk and the two nonagenarians has created enormous excitement among Twitter users.
"That would be epic!" commented one Twitter user.
"Would be very interesting for sure!" another user said.
"Would be sick," another Twitter user agreed.
Having Buffett, Munger and Musk would almost certainly break audience records on Twitter.
The three billionaires together represent almost all current generations of retail investors. Hearing them chat together will create unprecedented buzz for Twitter, which Musk is trying to revamp by finding sources of revenue other than advertising.
