Money isn’t everything, and it certainly doesn’t ensure you’ll get along with others, even less so if your rival is another of the world’s biggest fortunes.
Elon Musk, owner of Tesla and now Twitter, and Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, have sparked a war between them. A private chat has come to light and it shows disagreements over Tesla.
It is thanks to screenshots, allegedly taken from Musk’s phone, that we have learned of this billionaire feud.
In the conversations, there is apparently cordiality and it can also be seen how the two had met on numerous occasions. At one point, however, Musk’s car company becomes the focus of the discussion.
“Do you still have a half billion dollar short position against Tesla?” asks Musk.
Gates responded honestly but was keen to move the conversation on.
“I’m sorry to say I haven’t closed it. I would like to discuss the possibilities of philanthropy” said Gates.
That’s when Musk decides to go on the attack and is very blunt with the Microsoft co-founder.
“Sorry, I cannot take your philanthropy on climate change seriously when you have a massive short position against Tesla, the company doing most to combat climate change.” Musk replied
Musk weighs in on the conversation
The screenshots were posted by DeFiance Media, and a Twitter user questioned Elon Musk about the veracity of them, something the world’s richest man confirmed.
This is not the first time he has spoken out on this issue, as in 2021 he told Joe Rogan’s podcast that he had heard that Bill Gates did not trust Tesla and was betting against it on the stock market.
Shortly after his latest comments, Elon Musk tweeted a meme showing Bill Gates’ face and, once again, made his enmity clear: “In case you need to lose an erection fast”.
