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One of Silicon Valley's most successful investors has launched a scathing attack on Twitter, accusing the firm of 'a lot of pot smoking'.

Peter Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal and early Facebook investor, also said the firm was 'horribly mismanaged.' in an interview with CNBC.

'Twitter is hard to evaluate, they have a lot of potential' he said before launching into a tirade.

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Peter Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal and early Facebook investor, also said Twitter was 'horribly mismanaged.' in an interview with CNBC.

PETER THIEL'S 'WATERWORLD'

One Twitter investor responded to the claim by reminding Thiel of an early investstment, likening it to 'Waterworld'.

In 2008 the Silicon Valley billionaire gave $1.25million to the Seasteading Institute, an organisation that aspires to launch a floating colony into international waters, freeing them and like-minded thinkers to live by libertarian ideals.

Mr Thiel told Details magazine: 'The United States Constitution had things you could do at the beginning that you couldn't do later. So the question is, can you go back to the beginning of things? How do you start over?'

The floating sovereign nations that Mr Thiel imagines would be built on oil-rig-like platforms anchored in areas free of regulation, laws, and moral conventions. 

'It's a horribly mismanaged company-probably a lot of pot-smoking going on there,' he said.

However, despite this, he claimed the firm could still succeed.

'But it's such a solid franchise it may even work with all that.'

He also stopped short of calling for the Twitter CEO Dick Costolo to quit. 

'I'm not sure they could do that much better. The CEO can't really change things that much in these companies. 

'You'd have to fire everybody and start over.'

Thiel, who does not own shares of Twitter, said the founders of the social media site set the tone for the company's culture and it's hard to change. 

'One of the paradoxes is when you have a business model as good as Twitter-where you have 140 characters, no one can copy it, no one can compete-you can be screwing a lot of other stuff,' he said.

The venture capital firm where he is a partner, Founders Fund, also takes a shot at Twitter in its manifesto, 'We wanted flying cars. Instead we got 140 characters.'

Twitter did not have any immediate comment, but one early Twitter investor did.

One investor bought up Thiel's backing of a 'Waterworld' project for a floating city.

In a tweet, Jason Goldman pointed out Thiel has previously talked about plans to create an ocean platform to live on.

'Yo but how high were you when you decided to go live on an ocean platform.

'No not like. It *is* Waterworld man.' he said.

Twitter did not have any immediate comment, but one early Twitter investor did-in a tweet, which Costolo responded to tongue-in-cheek

He also then asked Twitter CEO to retweet the comment as his official statement, which Costolo responded to tongue-in-cheek, saying 'working my way through a giant bag of Doritos. I'll catch up with you later.'

In 2008 the Silicon Valley billionaire funnelled $1.25million to the Seasteading Institute, an organisation that aspires to launch a floating colony into international waters, freeing them and like-minded thinkers to live by libertarian ideals.

Mr Thiel told Details magazine: 'The United States Constitution had things you could do at the beginning that you couldn't do later. So the question is, can you go back to the beginning of things? How do you start over?'

The floating sovereign nations that Mr Thiel imagines would be built on oil-rig-like platforms anchored in areas free of regulation, laws, and moral conventions.

The Seasteading Institute says it will 'give people the freedom to choose the government they want instead of being stuck with the government they get'.