After almost ten years of hostility, Jamie Dimon and Elon Musk may have finally resolved their differences. Since 2016, the JPMorgan and Tesla CEOs have had a volatile relationship filled with insults and lawsuits.
However, appearing on CNBC on Wednesday, Jan. 22, Dimon said the two billionaires had “hugged it out” and even went as far as calling Musk “Einstein.”
After being questioned about his “complicated relationship” with the Tesla boss, Dimon told CNBC that the pair had finally put an end to their feud.
“Elon and I have hugged it out. He came to one of our conferences, him and I had a nice long chat,” Dimon said. “We settled some of our differences.”
“Space X, Tesla, Neuralink – the guy is our Einstein,” Dimon added.
Dimon’s comments come after reports that the CEOs had spent time together on stage and away from cameras at a JPMorgan technology summit in March.
According to The Wall Street Journal , Musk joined Dimon on stage for an hour to discuss artificial intelligence and politics, before visiting Dimon’s suite after the speech for more than an hour.
Sources told the publication that Dimon had decided JPMorgan could begin to start doing business with Musk again.
Musk and Dimon have had a complex relationship since 2016, marked mostly by conflict and lawsuits.
Tensions began in 2016, when JPMorgan turned away from underwriting Tesla’s vehicles, citing concerns over the longevity of their batteries.
According to The Wall Street Journal , Musk called the bank’s head of consumer banking and threatened to pull Tesla’s business from them—all while apparently cursing.
Dimon reportedly fired back at Musk stating that his bank would not be bullied. After Musk took his business elsewhere, tensions continued to swill between the two men.
In 2021, JPMorgan sued both Tesla and Musk for over $162 million, alleging the electric vehicle company breached a 2014 contract relating to warrants sold to the bank.
The lawsuit claimed that Musk’s notorious 2018 tweet stating that Tesla had “funding secured” to go private at $420 a share had lost the warrants substantial value.
“We have provided Tesla multiple opportunities to fulfil its contractual obligations, so it is unfortunate that they have forced this issue into litigation,” a spokesperson for JPMorgan said in a statement.
Tesla went on to file a lawsuit back, accusing the bank of acting in bad faith and exploiting the situation for profit.
Tesla argued that JPMorgan’s lawsuit was an opportunistic move motivated by animosity toward Musk, as the bank had been largely excluded from Tesla’s financial dealings in favor of competitors like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.
Both companies agreed to dismiss their respective legal claims in November 2024.
The reconciliation between Musk and Dimon comes at a time of immense change in America and a time of increased power for Musk.
With Musk gaining a seat at the White House to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, his influence over the U.S. and President Donald Trump has undoubtedly grown.
A feud with someone so close to the President, who is set to significantly change policy over the next four years, may have been too risky for JPMorgan and Dimon.
However, both Musk and Dimon will likely see benefits from their reconciliation.
For Musk, being on good terms with the world’s largest bank could open doors to future funding for capital heavy projects being led by Neuralink and SpaceX.
JPMorgan will also want to play a part of the rapidly expanding electric vehicle and space exploration sectors being driven by SpaceX and Tesla.