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Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk has never been one to hold back his opinions, even when it comes to legendary investor and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. founder Warren Buffett.

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In a candid 2020 interview with The New York Times, Musk didnt mince words when he discussed Buffetts image. He has managed to create a great image for himself as a kindly grandfather, which is maybe overstating the case, Musk said.

Of course, Buffett is known for his folksy charm, humble lifestyle and long-term investment approach, which has made him a beloved figure among many investors. His philanthropic efforts have made him one of the most generous donors in history. But to Musk, the 92-year-old Oracle of Omaha might be a bit overrated.

Despite his grandfatherly demeanor, Buffett is no pushover in the business world. Hes made his fortune by being a savvy and sometimes ruthless investor. During the financial crisis, he lent money to struggling companies like Goldman Sachs and General Electric Co. at interest rates that some critics deemed usurious.

It wasnt the first time Musk criticized Buffett. In 2018, Musk dismissed Buffetts famous idea of economic moats as lame. The comment caused a huge stir in the business world. After all, Buffett is known for investing in companies with strong competitive advantages that help keep rivals at bay. These advantages are often referred to as economic moats. Buffett obviously doesnt think moats are lame because he has made a fortune from them.

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Musk also said that allocating capital among Berkshire Hathaways various businesses seemed like a kind of a boring job and admitted he wasnt Buffett's "biggest fan."

Despite their past verbal sparring, it appears that Musk and Buffett may be burying the hatchet. At the recent Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting, Buffett had nothing but praise for Musk, calling him a brilliant guy with a strong vision for the future. He dreams about things, and his dreams have got a foundation, Buffett said.

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Musk responded to Buffetts kind words with a gracious tweet, thanking the legendary investor and his business partner Charlie Munger. Appreciate the kind words from Warren & Charlie, he wrote.

While there may still be some lingering tension between the two billionaires, its clear that they both have a deep respect for each others business acumen. As Buffett once said, Someones sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.

Warren Buffett and Elon Musk have become some of the biggest names in finance. But they, like many others, started out with an idea, built a startup and scaled. The next generation of business leaders are currently building startups across the country. While previously, investing in the early stages of pre-IPO Tesla and Berkshire Hathaway were only open to accredited investors, thanks to changes in federal law, that's all changing.

Now anyone can invest in pre-IPO companies on platforms like StartEngine and Wefunder. There's hundreds of startups currently open for investment, including investing in StartEngine itself.

See more on startup investing from Benzinga.

Don't miss real-time alerts on your stocks - join Benzinga Pro for free! Try the tool that will help you invest smarter, faster, and better.

This article Elon Musk Dismisses Warren Buffett's 'Kindly Grandfather' Image As Overrated originally appeared on Benzinga.com

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Twitter CEO Elon Musk announced changes to the platform's direct messages feature including the introduction of encryption.

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Twitter could launch encrypted direct messages on Wednesday, Elon Musk said, as the CEO outlined plans to boost communication features on the social media service.

Musk said in a tweet late Tuesday that the latest version of the Twitter app contains changes to direct messages or DMs nonpublic messages users send to one another.

The CEO said users can now reply to any message in a DM thread, not just the most recent, as well as use any emoji to react to a message. Previously, users would only be able to reply to the latest message in a DM thread and only react with specific emojis.

Musk also announced that encrypted DMs "should" be released on Wednesday.

Encryption in messages means that only the sender and receiver are able to see a message. In theory, Twitter and Musk would not be able to see or intercept direct messages between people.

"The acid test is that I could not see your DMs even if there was a gun to my head," Musk tweeted.

Facebook parent Meta said in January that it was expanding testing for default end-to-end encryption for its Messenger service. WhatsApp, the other messaging app owned by Meta, has had end-to-end encryption for several years.

Encrypted messaging services have grown in popularity in the past few years as users focus more on privacy.

Musk also said that voice and video calls will be added soon to Twitter so users can "talk to people anywhere in the world" without giving them a phone number.

Since Twitter's inception, the development of the direct messages feature hasn't got much attention from previous CEOs. But Musk has signaled numerous times his intention to make Twitter into an "everything app" from messaging to financial services.

New Twitter features Musk promises are not always introduced on time. In February, he said Twitter would introduce a feature to share advertising revenue with creators on the platform. That hasn't happened yet.

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Twitter to launch encrypted direct messages with voice and video chat to follow, Elon Musk says - CNBC

Checks on Irans nuclear programme by international experts fell sharply last year, according to data from the UN atomic watchdog.

Inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) were down 10% in 2022.

The agencys director general, Rafael Mariano Grossi, revealed in an internal memo seen by Bloomberg News that his inspectors had been seriously affected by Irans decision to end monitoring agreements created under the now defunct 2015 JCPOA deal.

The fall in inspections comes amid mounting international concern over Irans nuclear programme, after the Islamic Republic has already removed cameras and surveillance equipment.

Experts fear the regime may be closing in on its ambition to build a nuclear weapon with ever greater brazenambition, and with the international community increasingly handicapped in its ability to monitor Irans progress.

Tehran continues to protest that its nuclear programme is peaceful, to the disbelief of experts in the outside world.

Grossi wrote in the annual IAEA Safeguards Implementation Report: Iran has yet to clarify and resolve the outstanding safeguards issues.

He added: There is important and significant work ahead of us on this matter.

On a visit to Tehran in March after Iran was found to be producing uranium of almost weapons-grade purity, Grossi had called for greater transparency by the Islamic Republic but welcomed its high-level assurances.

But whatever has been said in public, the newly disclosed data reveals an increasingly uncooperative Tehran.

The news will dismay domestic observers in Iran who fear that the regimes obstructive approach will only prolong sanctions amid a continuing economic crisis.

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Fears Mount Over Iran Bomb As Nuclear Inspections Fall Sharply -

GENEVA (9 May 2023) UN Human Rights Chief Volker Trk today expressed dismay at the frighteningly high number of executions this year in Iran, and called on authorities to follow the lead of most other States and to abolish the death penalty or halt all executions.

On average so far this year, over 10 people are put to death each week in Iran, making it one the worlds highest executors, said Trk. Since 1 January, sources say at least 209 people have been executed -- mostly for drug-related offences and a disproportionately high number representing minorities. The exact number of executions is unknown due to lack of Government transparency, and the figure is likely to be higher.

At this rate, Iran is worryingly on the same track as last year when around 580 people were reportedly executed, said Trk. This is an abominable record, particularly when you consider the growing consensus for universal abolition of the death penalty.

Only a small number of States still impose and apply the death penalty .

On Saturday, Iran executed Habib Chaab, a Swedish-Iranian from the Ahwazi Arab minority, forcorruption on earth, a capital offence under Irans strict interpretation of Islamic law.Reports on Monday said Yousef Mehrdad and Sadrollah Fazeli Zare were executed for crimes including blasphemy.

Sources say at least 45 people, including 22 from the Baluch minority, were executed in the last 14 days alone. Most were executed for drug-related charges.

Imposing the death penalty for drug offences is incompatible with international human rights norms and standards, said Trk.

The Human Rights Committee, the body responsible for the authoritative interpretation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, is clear on prohibiting imposition of the death penalty for any but the most serious crimes crimes of extreme gravity, involving intentional killing. Drug offences do not meet this threshold.

The High Commissioner urged the Iranian authorities to establish a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty.

ENDS

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Iran: Frightening number of executions as Trk calls for end to ... - OHCHR

May 11 (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Thursday questioned Elon Musk's bid to end an agreement that he made to get a Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) lawyer's preapproval of some of his tweets, with judges pointing out that he agreed to it as part of a 2018 deal with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Musk's attorney Ellyde Thompson told the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan that while the Tesla chief executive thought the settlement would "buy peace" with the SEC, the agency's recent attempts to enforce the tweet vetting provision have discouraged him from exercising his right to free speech.

The settlement resolved a lawsuit accusing Musk of defrauding investors with a Aug. 7, 2018 tweet that he had "funding secured" to take his electric car company private, though a buyout was not close.

Musk has said the tweet was truthful, but a federal judge in San Francisco ruled it was false in a securities fraud lawsuit filed by shareholders. Musk was found not liable in February at a trial where he took the stand.

U.S. District Judges Reena Raggi and Debra Ann Livingston said during oral arguments that Musk could have foreseen the SEC seeking to enforce the agreement when he entered it.

"He agreed to this in order to avoid the penalties that the SEC could have imposed," Raggi said.

In settling, Musk agreed to let a Tesla lawyer screen tweets that might contain material information about the company.

He and Tesla each also paid $20 million in civil fines, and Musk gave up his role as Tesla chairman.

Musk is now asking the 2nd Circuit to overturn part of U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman's 2022 decision rejecting his bid to end the deal.

Liman said Musk's arguments amounted to a "bemoaning" of requirements he no longer wanted to adhere to now that "his company has become, in his estimation, all but invincible."

Musk's lawyers have called the pre-approval mandate a "government-imposed muzzle" that inhibited and chilled his lawful speech on a broad range of topics.

SEC attorney Jeffrey Berger said during the hearing on Thursday that the agency is not vetting Musk's tweets, and that the settlement was voluntary.

"There is no government censor here," he said.

The case is Musk v SEC, 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 22-1291.

Reporting by Jody Godoy in California; Editing by David Gregorio

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Thomson Reuters

Jody Godoy reports on banking and securities law. Reach her at jody.godoy@thomsonreuters.com

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Elon Musk's bid to end tweet pre-approval faces skeptical court - Reuters