In an interview on Thursday, activist investor Nelson Peltz praised billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, calling him a “brilliant guy” with “no ego.”
What Happened: In an interview with CNBC, Peltz lauded Musk, calling him a “friend” and a brilliant person with no ego. “That may be hard for you to believe, but having spent the amount of time I have with Elon, he's willing to listen to anybody has the same attitude that we do that we will steal any good idea and be proud of it.”
Peltz went on to praise the tech billionaire, saying that “his ideas are beyond anything I've ever seen in my whole life.”
“He's a brilliant guy, understands so many things about the world. And all you want to do is listen to a lot of what he got to say, but he is a good listener as well. And really smart people in the world are good listeners,” he added.
Musk, in response to Peltz’s praise, said, “Nelson is great.”
Why It Matters: This public display of mutual respect between Musk and Peltz is noteworthy, especially in the context of recent events. Just a few days ago, Musk had publicly advocated for Peltz to join the board of directors at the Walt Disney Co. DIS, stating that it would significantly improve the company’s share price.
The tech mogul’s endorsement for Peltz came just hours before Disney’s board emerged victorious in a shareholder vote, defeating nominees from activist investors Trian and Blackwells. Musk’s display of camaraderie with Peltz is a significant departure from his previous interactions with Disney.
Subscribe to the Benzinga Tech Trends newsletter to get all the latest tech developments delivered to your inbox.
Musk has been openly critical of Disney and its CEO, Bob Iger, in the past. He has accused the entertainment giant of institutional racism and sexism along with a memo obtained from an unnamed source.
The tech mogul previously called out Disney CEO Iger for double standards after it was reported that Disney increased ad spending on Meta Platforms Inc.‘s Instagram despite concerns about the platform recommending inappropriate content to minors through Reels. “Bob Eager has put his ego above the good of Disney for many years. This is just another case example,” he said at the time.
Disney and several other major advertisers pulled out ads from Musk’s social media platform X, formerly Twitter, after the site and its owner were accused of promoting antisemitic content.
Check out more of Benzinga’s Consumer Tech coverage by following this link.
Read Next: Elon Musk Says All Nations ‘Above A Certain Per Capita Income’ Are Committing ‘Demographic Suicide’
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Comments
Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.
