Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he confronted billionaire Bill Gates over whether he was shorting Tesla stock. Musk is seen here during Tesla Giga Texas’ “Cyber Rodeo” grand opening party on April 7, 2022.
Suzanne Cordeiro | AFP | beautiful pictures
Elon Musk accused Microsoft Co-Founder Bill Gates of lack Tesla.
In a tweet Friday, the Tesla CEO admitted that he asked Gates if he would short the electric carmaker’s stock. When investors short a stock, they are betting that the price of that asset will fall.
“I’ve heard from many at TED that Gates is still half a billion short of Tesla, that’s why I asked him, so it’s not exactly top secret,” Musk said in the tweet.
He was answering a question from a Twitter user about whether a supposedly written conversation between two billionaires is real.
The Tesla director’s answer was: “Yes, but I don’t disclose it to the NYT. They have to go through friends of friends.”
In a text exchange that CNBC could not independently verify, Musk asked Gates: “Do you still have a half-billion dollar short position against Tesla?”
Gates replied, “Sorry to say I haven’t closed it yet. I’d like to discuss philanthropic possibilities.”
Musk hit back: “Sorry, I can’t take your philanthropy on climate change seriously when you take a stand against Tesla, the company that is doing its best to tackle climate change. .”
A spokesman for Bill Gates did not immediately respond to requests for comment when contacted by CNBC.
Gates said NYT opinion writer Kara Swisher last year: “It’s important to say that what Elon has done with Tesla is one of the biggest contributors to climate change that anyone has ever made. And you know, underestimating Elon isn’t one of the biggest contributors to climate change. a good idea.”
But he went on to add that what Tesla is doing is “easy things, like passenger cars.” Gates stressed the need to make a bigger impact on climate change by addressing other industries.
“We basically don’t do enough of the hard stuff: steel, cement, meat,” he said at the time. “And sadly, the things people think about – electric, passenger cars – are a third of the problem. So we have to work on two-thirds.”
“If all you’re paying attention to are the short-term indicators, not the global green premium, then you’re missing out on the longest lead, where’s the hard one.”
This is not the first time the two men have had a public disagreement.
When Gates revealed in 2020 that he had bought himself an all-electric Porsche Taycan, one Twitter user asked: “I wonder why Bill Gates decided to use Taycan instead of Tesla.”
Musk replied in a tweet: “My conversations with Gates have been incredibly impressive [to be honest]. ”
Musk has also previously speculated on the possibility of Gates shorting his company’s stock. When asked about those remarks and whether he is a Tesla dwarf, Gates told CNBC last year: “I’m not talking about his investments but I think he should be very proud of what he’s done.”
In a Bloomberg interview also in February 2021Gates said he wished he was “with Tesla longer” when asked about Musk’s claims.
– Todd Haselton and Ryan Browne of CNBC contributed to this report
