Why is the relationship between Elon Musk and Bill Gates tense because of Tesla?

There is no good relationship between Elon Musk and Bill Gates. The distance between the two businessmen has been known for a long time, and recently a new chapter has occurred in which Tesla is involved.

SpaceX owner posts anti-Microsoft co-founder comment on XCriticizing the type of investments he makes in his own car company. This once again exposes this hostility from years ago.

Musk posted a message on X stating that Gates would be “annihilated.”referring to the type of investments you make in your company.

“Once Tesla gets the full autonomy solution and has Optimus in production, anyone who is still short will be eliminated,” the businessman tweeted. “Even Gates.”

Short term investing is a type of financial strategy that betting on a company’s decline in value That is why they were the focus of controversy in this conflict.

That’s why Tesla CEO Musk has issued a direct warning to those investors who hold short positions against his company, Ensure that they are “annihilated” once some of the company’s production and independence challenges are resolved.

The dispute between Musk and Gates dates back to a meeting at one of the electric car company’s factories. Musk tasked the Microsoft co-founder with holding a $500 million short position in Tesla stock. The situation angered the company founder, who cut off any negotiations.

According to Walter Isaacson’s biography of the Tesla CEO and social network X owner, The confrontation between these two dreamers revealed fundamental differences in their approaches. Public and private exchanges revealed their differences.

The relationship between Elon Musk and Bill Gates wasn’t always tense. In fact, it was friendly and cordial. Musk is known to admire great minds in technology, He made no secret of his respect for Gates and his contributions to Microsoft.

However, that friendliness changed dramatically during Bell’s visit to Tesla’s giant factory in Austin, Texas, in 2022.

The purpose of the visit was to talk to Musk about philanthropy and climate. Gates, who is known for his philanthropic efforts through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, He wanted to influence Elon’s approach to these types of activities.

During the meeting, major disagreements arose between the two men. Gates has questioned the viability of batteries to power large trucks and the effectiveness of solar power.These are topics that Musk has invested heavily in through Tesla and his other projects.

The Microsoft co-founder also expressed doubts about Elon Musk’s obsession with colonizing Mars, Something he considers crucial to humanity’s survival in the event of a catastrophe on Earth.

The tension came to a head when the conversation turned to charity work. Gates presented a list of projects he wants to fund, each costing $100 million, including refugee initiatives, schools in the United States, a cure for HIV, the eradication of mosquito-borne diseases, and the development of genetically modified seeds resistant to HIV and climate change.

Musk described these projects as a “hoax.” This reflects his skepticism about the effectiveness of traditional charitable initiatives.

The final breaking point came when Musk confronted Gates about his short selling of Tesla. The owner of this company considered this action a betrayal, considering that Tesla is a company dedicated to energy sustainability.

For his part, Gates apologized, explaining that he made this investment to make money. However, Musk did not accept the apology and cut all ties. In a later letter, Musk told Gates: “I can’t take his climate change philanthropy seriously when he has a huge short position against Tesla, the company that is doing the most to solve climate change.”

Despite this conflict. Bill Gates has maintained his public support for Tesla and praised its contribution to the electrification of the automotive sector. However, recent research has not confirmed whether he still holds his short positions in Tesla, raising speculation about his financial movements.