5 Strategic Facts Behind Warren Buffett’s Move to Sell Tesla Rival BYD Shares Worth IDR6.9 Trillion!
Jakarta, Pintu News – Warren Buffett is back in the spotlight after his investment company, Berkshire Hathaway, divested its entire stake in BYD-a Chinese electric car company that is often referred to as a Tesla competitor.
The move ended a 17-year long investment with a remarkable result: a share price surge of more than 2,300% since 2008. What are the reasons behind this major decision, and what are the implications for the global electric vehicle sector?
1. Berkshire bought BYD shares since 2008 for only Rp3.8 trillion
According to data released by The Daily Hodl on September 25, 2025, Berkshire Hathaway first bought 225 million BYD shares in 2008 for about $230 million or equivalent to Rp3.8 trillion (at an exchange rate of USD 1 = Rp16,763). At that time, BYD was still not widely known and its share value was only around $0.56 per share.
The investment was spearheaded by the late Charlie Munger, Buffett’s business partner, who at the time saw great potential from the energy transition and electric vehicles. The move later proved to be very visionary, as BYD grew into one of the largest EV manufacturers in the world.
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2. BYD Shares Rocket 2,300% in 17 Years
With the development of the electric car industry and BYD’s market dominance in China and overseas, the company’s share price has risen dramatically. By 2025, BYD’s share price will be around $13.62 per share-a 2,332% jump from its initial price.
The value of Berkshire’s ownership had reached $415 million or around Rp6.9 trillion as of December 2024. However, in the financial statements as of March 31, 2025, the value of the ownership was zero, indicating that all shares had been sold.
3. Divestment Process Begins in 2022
Although only completed this year, the process of selling BYD shares by Berkshire has started since August 2022. Data from BYD’s public relations manager, Li Yunfei, submitted via Weibo states that Berkshire’s stake has dropped below 5% since mid-2024.
Li Yunfei said, “Stock investment is a natural process, there is buying and selling. Thanks to [the late] Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett for 17 years of support and togetherness.”
4. Buffett’s move could trigger new sentiment in EV sector
The decision to divest all shares in BYD may reflect Buffett’s strategic view of the current valuation of the electric vehicle market. With high valuations and fierce competition, especially from new players and increasingly complex geopolitics, it is not impossible that Buffett chose to secure maximum returns from this long-term investment.
In addition, some analysts consider that the global EV market is now in a consolidation phase, where exponential growth is slowing down, and profit margins are being squeezed by production costs and environmental regulations.
5. Evidence of the Power of Long-Term Investment
The story of Berkshire Hathaway’s investment in BYD is a classic example of Warren Buffett’s buy and hold philosophy. In almost two decades, the initial investment of Rp3.8 trillion turned into Rp6.9 trillion-showing that patience and faith in a company’s fundamentals can yield extraordinary returns.
Although Buffett has now exited BYD, this move is not a signal that the EV sector is no longer promising. Rather, it shows the importance of timing in profit realization, especially when valuations have peaked.
Conclusion
Berkshire Hathaway’s divestment from BYD is not just a matter of selling shares, but a strategic decision that conveys an important message about the dynamics of the electric vehicle market and a long-term investment approach. With a return of over 2,300%, Warren Buffett once again proved that intuition and patience in investing are still his main weapons.
As additional information, now retail investors can also access shares of large companies such as Tesla through digital assets called XStock available on the Pintu application. One of them is XStock Tesla , which currently has a monthly price increase of up to 23.26%, with a price of IDR 7,131 per unit and a daily trading volume of IDR 302 billion. Complete information and real-time price data can be accessed through Tesla xStock.
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