Ron Baron on his Musk investments: Can make 'hundreds of billions of dollars' over the next 10 years

0:01 GOING ON THAT WE MAKE SILICON IN THIS COUNTRY THAT WE, YOU KNOW. >> YOU JUST BLOW BERNIE SANDERS OFF. >> WHO CARES ABOUT HIM? HE'S ALMOST DEAD. >> LET ME ASK YOU A SEPARATE QUESTION, WHICH IS THE LAST TIME WE SAW YOU, WE ASKED YOU ABOUT THE PROSPECT OF A MERGER BETWEEN SPACEX AND TESLA. RIGHT. AND AT THE TIME. YOU SORT OF DEMURRED BECAUSE IT HADN'T BEEN PUBLIC YET THAT THE COMPANY WAS THINKING ABOUT THIS, OR AT LEAST PUBLICLY DECLARING. SO THE COMPANY HAS NOW SINCE SAID, ELON SAID IT, THAT THERE ARE INDEPENDENT COMMITTEES NOW THINKING ABOUT THIS. RIGHT. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT TO SPEAK MORE OPENLY ABOUT YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT THAT. AND ALSO, BY THE WAY, AGAIN, I KNOW MAYBE POLITICS IS NOT SUPPOSED TO COME INTO THIS, BUT FROM A REGULATORY PERSPECTIVE OR SOMETHING ELSE, WHETHER THIS NEW DYNAMIC CHANGES THE PROSPECT OF ANY KIND OF DEAL, I DON'T KNOW.

0:51 >> AGAIN, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THINGS THAT YOU CAN'T PREDICT. >> YES. >> YOU CAN'T. CONTROL AND OR CONTROL. AND WHEN THIS FIRST CAME, YOU KNOW, BECAME PUBLIC AND PEOPLE WERE TALKING ABOUT IT. I DID SPEAK TO HIM. I WROTE TO HIM, I GAVE HIM MY REASONS WHY I THOUGHT IT WAS POSITIVE OR WHY I THOUGHT IT WAS NEGATIVE. AND I SAID I WOULDN'T, YOU KNOW, SAY PUBLICLY WHAT MY OPINIONS WERE. AND BUT WHATEVER HE DECIDED HE WOULD DO, I'M NOT RUNNING A COMPANY. HE IS. AND AND I WOULD SUPPORT HIM WHATEVER HE WANTS.

1:23 >> HE SAYS HE WANTS TO DO IT. I MEAN, THAT WAS THAT IS THAT PIECE OF THIS IS CLEAR. THAT'S WHAT HE WOULD LIKE TO DO. THE QUESTION IS WHETHER THE INDEPENDENT COMMITTEES WOULD LIKE TO DO IT, OR AT WHAT PRICE THEY'D LIKE TO DO IT. >> AT WHATEVER THEIR DECISION IS. I'M GOING TO SUPPORT HIM. AND WE'RE INVESTORS IN SPACE AND IN TESLA AND VARIOUS THINGS. SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF OUR OF OUR ASSETS ARE IN BOTH COMPANIES. I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE'VE ALREADY MADE WITH HIM.

1:50 WHAT I SAY $30 BILLION. AND I THINK THAT OVER THE NEXT TEN YEARS, I THINK WE'RE GOING TO MAKE HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, HUNDREDS. >> AND YOU THINK YOU'D MAKE THAT MONEY, WHETHER THEY'RE TOGETHER OR APART? DOESN'T MATTER. >> DOESN'T MATTER TO ME. HE'S GOING TO DO WHAT'S BEST FOR THE COMPANIES AND FOR OPERATING MOST EFFICIENTLY. >> AND AND SINCE YOU'RE THINKING SO LONG TERM ABOUT THIS, DO YOU EVEN CARE ABOUT A PREMIUM? MEANING, WOULD YOU SAY, BECAUSE THIS, THIS, THIS INDEPENDENT COMMITTEE IS GOING TO SIT THERE AT TESLA AND SAY, DO WE NEED ANY PREMIUM? IS THE PREMIUM ALREADY BUILT IN? IS IT GOING.

2:23 >> TO BE I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT AT ALL. >> OKAY. >> I THINK THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS WE'RE GOING TO BUILD SILICON IN THIS COUNTRY. WE'RE GOING TO BUILD POWER. DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH THEY BUILD IN CHINA? BY THE WAY, WE HAVE 550 GIGS IN THE UNITED STATES. DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH THEY HAVE IN CHINA? >> I DON'T. >> THREE TIMES THAT AMOUNT. DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH THEY BUILD IN CHINA A YEAR? THEY BUILD 300 GIGS A YEAR AND WE BUILD 20.

2:48 AND SO THEY'RE BUILDING HUGE POWER. THEY'RE WAY BEHIND US IN CHIPS, BUT THEY'RE WAY AHEAD OF US IN POWER. WE NEED MORE POWER. ELON IS DOING THAT. SO ELON IS ADDING POWER AND WE'RE GOING TO USE THE SUN. WE'RE GOING TO DO IT FROM SPACE. AND YOU KNOW WHAT MORE YOU TALK ABOUT ALSO FOR DATA CENTERS ON ON THE PLANET. WHAT DO YOU THINK IS HAPPENING IN SPACE? WE'RE GOING TO BE DOING THAT. PEOPLE ARE SAYING, WELL, IT'S GOING TO BE TEN YEARS. IT'S NOT GOING TO BE TEN YEARS. GOOGLE HAS ALREADY LAUNCHED A SATELLITE TO SHOW THAT IT WORKS CURRENTLY. AND ELON SAYS, WE'RE GOING TO BE LAUNCHING BEGINNING IN 2027 AND 2028. WE'RE GOING TO HAVE DATA CENTERS IN SPACE, DATA CENTERS IN SPACE. SO ALL THE PROBLEMS YOU HAVE ON THE PLANET, THEY'RE GOING TO BE GONE BECAUSE YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE THEM IN SPACE. SO POLITICAL IS ALWAYS AN ISSUE.

3:35 BUT THE YOU KNOW, THE REPUBLICANS WEREN'T IN CONTROL. >> BUT YOU GENUINELY BELIEVE IN PART OF YOUR THESIS IS THAT WE WILL HAVE DATA CENTERS IN SPACE IN 2028 IN A MEANINGFUL WAY, OR JUST THE FIRST SORT OF TEST OF IT. >> IT WILL BE HUGE IN THE YEAR OR TWO AFTER THAT, BUT THEY WILL BE SIGNIFICANT IN 2028. >> SIGNIFICANT. OKAY. NO, I ONLY ASK BECAUSE PEOPLE LIKE JEFF BEZOS HAVE SUGGESTED THAT, YES, WE'LL HAVE DATA CENTERS IN SPACE IN THE FUTURE, BUT I THINK HIS TIMELINE IS TEN YEARS LONGER.

4:01 >> HE HAD A TEN YEAR. BUT OF COURSE, ALL THESE GUYS HAVE EXISTING. THEY TALK THEIR BOOK JUST LIKE I TALK MY BOOK. >> OKAY, SO AND WHERE DO YOU. THE OTHER THING I WAS GOING TO SAY, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU SAW THIS REPORT JUST YESTERDAY, ELON SAYING THAT THEY'RE GOING TO, I THINK, END PRODUCTION OF SOME OF THE CYBERTRUCKS SO THAT THEY CAN MIGRATE THAT OVER TO ROBOTS TO NO, TO THE TAXIS, TAXIS, TO THE ROBO TAXIS. AND, AND HOW QUICKLY DO YOU THINK THOSE REALLY GO ONLINE AROUND THE COUNTRY?

4:28 >> THEY'RE GOING ONLINE RAPIDLY RIGHT NOW. AND I CAN'T TELL YOU EXACTLY WHEN EVERYTHING HAPPENS. AND SO MOST PEOPLE ARE FOCUSED AS INVESTORS NOW, YOU KNOW, WHEN HOW MANY DO WE ADD THIS WEEK? HOW MANY DO WE ADD THIS MONTH? HOW MANY ARE BEING ROLLED OFF THE PRODUCTION LINE NOW? IT'S EVERYTHING'S NOW. AND THE WAY YOU MAKE THE MOST MONEY IS BY BEING ABLE TO SAY, WELL, WHO KNOWS WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW? BUT THE PROGRESS IS YOU. THINGS ARE GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION AND SOONER OR LATER YOU GET THIS, THIS RAMP UP VERY SHARPLY. AND IF YOU'RE AN INVESTOR AT THAT POINT IN TIME, THEN THAT'S WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN. YOU'RE GOING TO BE THE BENEFICIARY OF THAT. AND WHEN WE WERE INVESTORS IN TESLA ORIGINALLY, TESLA WAS GOING BETWEEN 200 AND $300 A SHARE, DID IT 3 OR 4 TIMES IN A COUPLE OF YEARS. AND PEOPLE SAID, GEE, RON, IT'S SO OBVIOUS IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN. WHY DON'T YOU SELL IT AT 300 AND BUY IT BACK AT 200? AND I SAID, WELL, BECAUSE ONCE I DO THAT, I'M PROBABLY GOING TO MISS IT. I'M NEVER GOING TO KNOW. I DON'T KNOW, IT GOES UP AND DOWN. AND SO BECAUSE OF THAT, I DIDN'T SELL ANY. AND THE STOCK WENT UP 20 TIMES. AND THEN FOR CLIENTS, NOT FOR ME PERSONALLY, BUT FOR CLIENTS, WE SOLD A QUARTER OF OUR STOCK. AND THEN THE STOCK DOUBLED AGAIN. AND NOW IT'S UP 40 TIMES. AND I THINK WE'RE GOING TO MAKE FIVE TIMES AGAIN OVER THE NEXT TEN YEARS. BUT IF YOU HAVE A LONG HORIZON, EVERYTHING ELSE FEELS LIKE A BLIP AND IT IS A BLIP. AND WHEN YOU'RE INVESTING IN GREAT COMPANY, THIS IS THE MOST REMARKABLE INVESTMENT I'VE MADE IN MY CAREER. I'M 83. I'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR 56 YEARS. THIS IS THE MOST REMARKABLE COMPANY I'VE EVER SEEN IN.

6:01 >> MY LIFE, THE MOST REMARKABLE PERIOD IN THE WORLD THAT WE'VE EVER BEEN IN. AND YOU'VE SEEN YOU'RE GETTING UP THERE. I'M GETTING UP THERE. WE'VE SEEN. >> WE'RE NOT. YOU'RE CLOSE TO ME. >> NO, BUT WE'VE SEEN. WE'VE SEEN EVENTUALLY. >> BUT I'LL BE READY FOR YOU. >> YOU'RE AN OPTIMIST. EVENTUALLY THINGS PLAY OUT AND WE END UP DOING THE RIGHT THING IN THIS COUNTRY, OBVIOUSLY. BUT I SEE, I DON'T KNOW WHETHER THAT THAT LASTS FOREVER. I THINK SOMETIMES PEOPLE GET TO THE END OF THEIR LIFE AND THEY LOOK BACK AND THEY CAN'T BELIEVE, YOU KNOW, WHAT THEY'RE LEAVING BEHIND BECAUSE IT'S SO DIFFERENT THAN WHEN THEY STARTED. DID YOU SLEEP THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT? THINGS DON'T ALWAYS.

6:36 >> EXCEPT THROUGH IT. >> OKAY. YEAH. SO YOU'RE FINE WITH THA