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Elon Musk and Warren Buffett in a candy clash

In Walnut Creek, Ca. Photo: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty

Elon Musk says he's starting a candy company, a direct challenge to Warren Buffett's most trumpeted moat of all — the market power enjoyed by iconic See's Candies, which the investment titan has owned for four decades.

What's going on: In a to-and-fro in recent days, Musk has scorned one of Buffett's primary investment principles — to buy companies enjoying a type of monopolistic power that he calls a "moat," reports Fortune's Jen Wieczner. And Buffett has defended his theory. “Elon may turn things upside down in some areas," Buffett said, "[but] I don’t think he’d want to take us on in candy. There are some pretty good moats around,” report Bloomberg's Katherine Chiglinsky, Noah Buhayar and Sonali Basak.

  • This was a red cape for the super-competitive Musk, who fired off successive tweets yesterday evening:
  • Notwithstanding his assertion, no one knows if we are going to see Musk candy any time soon. But he seemed to be enjoying himself. After a few hours of more tweets, he ended with this:

Go deeper

Alayna Treene, author of Sneak Peek
3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Kellyanne Conway's parting power pointers

Kellyanne Conway addresses the 2020 Republican National Convention. Photo: Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images

Kellyanne Conway has seen power exercised as a pollster, campaign manager and senior counselor to President Trump. Now that his term in office has concluded, she shared her thoughts with Axios.

Why it matters: If there's a currency in this town, it's power, so we've asked several former Washington power brokers to share their best advice as a new administration and new Congress settle in.

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Alayna Treene, author of Sneak Peek
3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

GOP holdouts press on with plans to crush Cheney

Screenshot of emails to a member of Congress from individuals who signed an Americans for Limited Government petition against Rep. Liz Cheney. Photo obtained by Axios

Pro-Trump holdouts in the House are forging ahead with an uphill campaign to oust Rep. Liz Cheney as head of the chamber's Republican caucus even though Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told them to back down.

Why it matters: What happens next will be a test of McCarthy's party control and the sincerity of his opposition to the movement. Cheney (R-Wyo.) is seen as a potential leadership rival to the California Republican.

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Lachlan Markay
3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Democrats aim to punish House GOP for Capitol riot

Speaker Nancy Pelosi passes through a newly installed metal detector at the House floor entrance Thursday. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

House Democrats plan to take advantage of corporate efforts to cut funding for Republicans who opposed certifying the 2020 election results, with a plan to target vulnerable members in the pivotal 2022 midterms for their role in the Jan. 6 violence.

Why it matters: It's unclear whether the Democrats' strategy will manifest itself in ads or earned media in the targeted races or just be a stunt to raise money for themselves. But the Capitol violence will be central to the party's messaging as it seeks to maintain its narrow majorities in Congress.

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