Elon Musk extended an invitation to Warren Buffett, a renowned billionaire investor, urging him to consider investing in Tesla. This suggestion coincides with Tesla facing challenges as its electric vehicle sales decline worldwide, navigating through a period of adversity.
Responding to a suggestion by a user on X platform advising Buffett to divest from his Apple shares and shift investments to Tesla, Musk expressed that such a move would be “obvious” for the seasoned investor.
A user suggested on May 6, “C’mon Warren Buffett, sell all your $AAPL and buy $TSLA.” In response, Musk stated, “He should take a position in Tesla. It’s an obvious move.” Notably, while Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway holds stakes in the Chinese electric vehicle company BYD, it does not currently invest in Tesla.
Meanwhile, Buffett’s Berkshire reduced its holdings in Apple, resulting in a 22 percent decline in its stake to $135.4 billion. Despite this reduction, Apple remains Berkshire’s largest holding. Buffett clarified that the decision to decrease Apple investments was primarily driven by tax considerations following substantial profits, rather than a shift in his long-term outlook for the company.
“It doesn’t bother me in the least to write that check – and I would hope that with all that America’s done for all of you, it shouldn’t bother you that we do it, -and if I’m doing it at 21% this year and we’re doing it a little higher percentage later on, I don’t think you’ll actually mind the fact that we sold a slightly Apple this year,” he added.
Elon Musk’s Tesla has laid off staff from the software, service, and engineering departments, as per a report in Reuters. The move comes after the automaker disbanded its EV charging department following Tesla’s announcement last month that it was reducing its global workforce by more than 10 percent.
Tesla has been under pressure from dropping sales and an intensifying price war among automakers as elevated interest rates have slowed the adoption of electric vehicles. The company is looking to focus on autonomous driving software, robotaxis, and its humanoid robot Optimus, and Musk could be cutting its spending on certain teams to preserve cash for those projects, analysts have said.