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Read the email billionaire Ron Baron sent Elon Musk telling him to stop tweeting when angry: 'Get an ice cream cone. Just don't use Twitter'

Ron Baron once told Elon Musk to stop tweeting.
Ron Baron once told Elon Musk to stop tweeting.Associated Press via Business Wire
  • Tesla investor Ron Baron once emailed Elon Musk and told him to stop tweeting when upset.

  • At the time the email was sent, Musk had called a diver a "pedo."

  • The email was uncovered in a lawsuit against Tesla and Musk over his "funding secured" tweet.

Long before Elon Musk became "Chief Twit," Tesla investor Ron Baron once advised the billionaire to stop tweeting when annoyed or angry.

"You should not respond to any criticism in the news or on Twitter," Baron told Musk in an email from July 15, 2018 that was uncovered in a lawsuit against Tesla and Musk over his "funding secured" tweet.

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"The more you react, the more likely they will win," the billionaire investor added. "If something really upsets you, go for a walk around the factory. Get an ice cream cone. Just don't use Twitter."

Baron declined to comment on the email. The billionaire founded the investment firm, Baron Capital, and has been an outspoken supporter of Tesla. He has invested large portions of his estate in the electric-car maker. Baron told CNBC that Musk has made him "$5 billion so far, on a $400 million investment." He also poured about $100 million into Twitter during Musk's takeover.

At the time Baron sent the email, Musk had called a British cave diver who helped rescue a group of boys that were trapped in a cave a "pedo" on Twitter. Musk apologized for the tweet about three days after Baron's email and the "pedo" comment eventually spawned a defamation lawsuit which Musk won in 2019.

In his 2018 email, Baron told Musk to turn the other cheek.

"Your job is just to make the cars and sell them and make them better every day," Baron wrote. "That's all. It's a lot. But that is under your control. Media is not. That is the answer. Don't let them distract you from the mission."

The Tesla investor also advised Musk to avoid politics and "be unfailingly polite to everyone."

"Be BORING!" Baron wrote to Musk. "Enough excitement about the business. You don't need to add any more personality. Only detracts from mission. Makes you appear unfocused. Makes you vulnerable to criticism."