Tesla CEO Elon Musk gave Bill Gates one piece of advice in his fight against climate change, and it will sound familiar to many fans of the tech CEO.Gates, who has long advocated for climate change initiatives, recently stated that people on Earth must change nearly everything in order to save the planet.
However, Musk, who helped transform Tesla from a struggling automaker to a dominant force in the car market, questions Gates' mentality and believes that the former Microsoft executive should sell his short position in Tesla stock if he is truly committed to helping the environment.Over the years, Gates and Musk have traded barbs. Gates has questioned the legitimacy of some Tesla products, including the Semi, and Musk has consistently chastised Gates for taking a short position against Tesla, a company that has done a lot for the environment through the EV movement.
Text messages between the two tech titans were leaked in April 2022, and Musk got right to the point, asking Gates if he still had a sizable $500 million short position against Tesla stock.
"I'm afraid I haven't closed it out," Gates replied. "I'd like to talk about philanthropic opportunities."Musk was unconcerned.
"I'm sorry, but I can't take your climate change philanthropy seriously when you have a massive short position against Tesla, the company doing the most to solve climate change," Musk responded.
Evidently, Musk still considers that point to be a major reason why Gates might be more effective in his fight against climate change. After all, why would you advocate for the demise of a company that has aided the world's transition to environmentally friendly vehicles?That is not to say that Gates has not taken other steps to further his goal of assisting the Earth. Gates has invested more than $2 billion in solar energy, direct air capture, and nuclear fission, all of which could aid in the fight against climate change.
Regardless of his short position, Gates believes Tesla is effective. "...Things like Tesla are having a positive impact even without being philanthropic," Gates recently stated.Even so, the sparring between the two has continued. Recently, Gates stated that Musk's goals for bringing life to Mars are essentially futile.Even so, the sparring between the two has continued. Recently, Gates stated that Musk's goals for bringing life to Mars are essentially futile.
"It's actually quite expensive to go to Mars," Gates explained to the BBC. "You can buy measles vaccines and save lives for $1,000 per life saved, so it sort of grounds you, as in, don't go to Mars."
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