JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said that he and Elon Musk “hugged it out” last year at a conference, which apparently managed to smooth things over from nearly a decade of sporadic questioning.
Having apparently patched things up between himself and Elon Musk, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, the veteran banker, would now like to lend an assisting hand to the companies of the world’s wealthiest man.
Dimon said to CNBC during an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland: “Tesla and I fought in the same conference in JPMorgan. Elon and I hugged it out. He came to one of our conferences, [and] he and I had a nice, long chat. We settled some of our differences.”
This would appear to refer to a JP Morgan technology conference in March of 2024, at which they both appeared. This Wall Street Journal excerpt describes how they shared a stage together at a conference in Israel, an event that took more than an hour and was private. Back then everything seemed fine between them.
Far from the rough exchanges they used to have, Dimon said he admired Musk and wished to help him.
“He’s our guy, our Einstein,” the JPMorgan CEO boasted in a CNBC interview. “I would wish to help him and his companies as much as I could.”
Fortune’s request for comment was not immediately answered by Tesla or JPMorgan.
The history of Elon Musk and Jamie Dimon
The ice relationship began ten years ago when Tesla chieftain Elon Musk’s plans to underwrite leases for his Tesla electric-powered vehicles were tuned down by JPMorgan. Musk then telephoned the head of consumer banking at JPMorgan, CFP Marianne Lake, and reportedly shouted and threatened to pull his commercial banking from Tesla, sources told the Journal, referring to others familiar with the relationship.
“He called also back to say his bank wasn’t to be bullied,” the Journal quoted Dimon against Musk angry at the incident.
According to reports, Musk fulfilled his pledge to separate Tesla’s commercial banking operations from JPMorgan, which he said also infuriated the company’s CEO.
“I had asked Jamie Dimon at one point about getting a Tesla motor vehicle lease line,” Musk reportedly said while testifying in an unrelated 2023 lawsuit, according to the Journal.
“I withdrew all commercial banking business from JPMorgan, which made JPMorgan hate Tesla and me pretty intense.”
The two had significant controversy in 2021 when JPMorgan filed a suit demanding that Tesla send $162 million in funds to the bank for trade assistance it provided in 2014, according to the Journal. Tesla then filed a counterclaim, and the suit escalated.
However, in December 2024, Tesla said it would dismiss its countersuit, and JPMorgan agreed to drop the action as well. According to Reuters, the terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
“JPMorgan and Tesla have chosen to start a fresh relationship and resolve the pending disputes between the two firms,” said a JPMorgan spokesperson cited by Reuters in December last year.
As Musk prepared to take an active role in President Donald Trump‘s government as an advisor with the advisory Council for Government Efficiency, Dimon expressed hope.
The efficiency and accountability of government must be improved. On Wednesday, Dimon stated that it need to be outcome-based. “Department by department, I mean.” Thus, I want the best for them.