With Tesla's (TSLA) market capitalization at almost $1 trillion, Elon Musk can afford to look down on his critics and naysayers.
It's an exercise to which the richest man in the world, who forced the entire automotive sector to convert to electric cars, does not hesitate to lend himself.
No matter the rank or pedestal of these critics, Musk wants to remind them that they were wrong about him and the Austin company.
His latest effort: He's made public an anecdote that describes Warren Buffett's partner, Charlie Munger, as more than skeptical of Tesla's ambitions.
The move comes the same day that Munger, who with Warren Buffett forms one of the most famous and respected pairs in investing circles, doubled down on his aversion to cryptocurrencies.
Musk is one of the crypto evangelists. Not only does Tesla hold $1.99 billion of bitcoin on its balance sheet, but Musk has never personally stopped raving about the meme coin dogecoin. Tesla also accepts dogecoin as a means of payment for its goods other than its cars.
"I'm proud of the fact I've avoided it,” Munger said Wednesday, during Daily Journal shareholder meeting streamed on Yahoo Finance, referring to cryptocurrencies. “It's like some venereal disease ... I just regard it as beneath contempt."
Cryptocurrencies are popular because they can be used for kidnapping, extortion and tax evasion, said Munger, who is vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A). He expressed support for China’s move to outlaw private digital currencies.
Musk can't stand to hear any more and let his 74 million followers know on Twitter.
"I was at a lunch with Munger in 2009 where he told the whole table all the ways Tesla would fail," the CEO of Tesla wrote. "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."
Tesla Has Become the Benchmark in the Auto Sector
So goes Elon Musk. He settles his accounts without much noise. Munger learned the hard way after 13 years that Elon Musk almost never forgets those who doubted him.
Tesla market capitalization is around $1 trillion. The automaker now produces nearly 1 million vehicles a year and is making money.
The legacy car manufacturers are forced to copy Tesla's effort or define themselves in relation to the company. Tesla has become the benchmark in the automotive sector.
And Musk in all this has become the richest man in the world, mainly thanks to his stake in Tesla. His net worth was estimated on February 16 at $236 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
That's more than twice the Bloomberg estimate for Buffett, who ranks seventh with valued net wealth at $114 billion.
Munger's fortune is estimated at $2.4 billion by Forbes. He is not among the 500 richest people in the world in the Bloomberg ranking.
