‘I'm not his biggest fan': Elon Musk says Warren Buffett's way of getting rich is 'pretty boring' — but here's why you should copy the Oracle of Omaha

In 2018, Musk also described Buffett’s principle about companies with sustainable competitive advantages as “lame” during a Tesla earnings call.

"First of all, I think moats are lame," he said. "They’re like nice in a sort of quaint, vestigial way. But if your only defense against invading armies is a moat, you will not last long. What matters is the pace of innovation. That is the fundamental determinant of competitiveness."

When asked about it, Buffett responded, “Certainly you should be working on improving your own moat and defending your own moat all the time. And Elon may turn things upside down in some areas. I don’t think he’d want to take us on in candy.”

To be fair, building rockets, implanting chips and manufacturing electric cars is much sexier than pouring over earnings reports all day. However, there is some evidence to suggest that ordinary investors would do well following Buffett’s "boring" approach.

Good investing is boring

Buffett probably wouldn’t be offended by Musk’s comments since analyzing company fundamentals and looking at less flashy and exciting industries is at the heart of his investing style.

He isn’t the only one to take this approach. George Soros, another famous investor, once said, “If investing is entertaining, if you're having fun, you're probably not making any money. Good investing is boring.”

Value investing, which Buffett is a proponent of, is focused on finding beaten-down and overlooked companies. Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio, for instance, includes DaVita HealthCare Partners (DVA), a network of kidney dialysis centers, and Louisiana-Pacific (LPX), a manufacturer of engineered wood panels.

Buffett’s game plan seems to be focused on finding strong companies that generate steady cash flows and deliver predictable performances, rather than chasing innovation or high-stakes ventures.

Boring is key to building wealth

Launching a successful business is incredibly difficult. One in four small businesses fail within the first year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Operating a business is significantly more difficult when economic conditions are not favorable. Amid high interest rates and a pullback in consumer spending, total bankruptcies — including consumer, small business and big corporates — have been climbing steadily for 20 months up to April, according to Epiq data cited by Bloomberg.