Elon Musk Defends Crypto From Billionaire Charlie Munger Who Likens Bitcoin To ‘Some Venereal Disease’

Tesla/SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has taken a thinly-veiled shot at Charlie Munger, Vice Chairman of investment giant Berkshire Hathaway and longtime partner of fellow crypto skeptic Warren Buffett following his controversial comments about the premier cryptocurrency.

Crypto Is Like A ‘Venereal Disease’: Charlie Munger

Despite Berkshire Hathaway splurging $1 billion into crypto-friendly Nubank after dumping a portion of its Visa and Mastercard holdings, Charlie Munger still had a few choice words for crypto.

Speaking during a Q&A session on Tuesday (Feb.15), Munger compared crypto to a virus, stating: “I certainly didn’t invest in crypto. I’m proud of the fact that I avoided it. It’s like some venereal disease.”

Warren Buffett’s right-hand man went on to explain he doesn’t like bitcoin because it’s used by tax evaders, extortionists, kidnappers, and terrorists. Munger then reiterated his admiration of China for banning crypto, adding that he hopes the United States would follow in China’s footsteps and ban them.

Charlie Munger, like his pal Buffett, has long criticized cryptocurrencies. In May last year, the 98-year-old billionaire investor claimed the new asset class was “disgusting and contrary to the interests of civilization”. Later that December, he said he wished cryptocurrencies were never invented.

Elon Musk’s Unpleasant Encounter With Munger

Crypto enthusiasts didn’t mince words, clapping back at Munger for being uninformed about emerging technologies like bitcoin.

The CEO of Tesla also chimed in on the conversation by recalling how Munger previously dismissed his electric vehicle (EV) maker. Musk indicated that the Berkshire Hathaway vice-chairman had told the whole table at a lunch in 2009 that Tesla was bound to fail.

Musk says he was deeply hurt by the assertion, but he told Munger that it was worth trying despite the chances of Tesla succeeding being painfully low.

To say Musk’s EV juggernaut has been a roaring success in recent years would be a gross understatement. Tesla is currently within touching distance of a trillion-dollar valuation. To put this gargantuan figure into perspective, the company is valued higher than most of the world’s largest car manufacturers, including General Motors, Ford, South Korea’s Hyundai, and Honda combined.

As currently the world’s richest man with an eye-watering net worth of $249.3 billion, Musk’s Tesla endeavor seems to have paid off pretty well. 

Musk’s inspirational story of persevering in the face of criticism stirred up the crypto community. MicroStrategy CEO and serial bitcoin evangelist Michael Saylor, for instance, tweeted: “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”