Elon Musk and Bill Gates are going back and forth on social media with the former questioning the motive of the Microsoft founder as far as attempting to short Tesla stocks.
In an interview with a French YouTuber, HugoDecrypte, the Tesla CEO believes Gates is not serious about fighting climate change because he made a half-million bet against Tesla.
However, Gates responded by saying that he has put in more money on climate change than Musk or anyone else.
“I give a lot more to climate change than Elon or anyone else,” Gates said. “I give a lot of philanthropic dollars, I back companies – you know electric cars are about 16% of emissions, so we also need to solve that other 84%.”
For his part, Musk responded with a “Sigh.”
The exchange comes roughly more than a month after Musk rejected the opportunity for him and Gates to work together on philanthropy. Musk, through a text conversation, revealed that he confronted Gates over the $500 million in shorting stock against Tesla.
Both seemed ready to meet until Musk asked Gates if he still had a half-billion dollar short position against Tesla.
“Sorry to say I haven’t closed it yet,” Gates said. “I would like to discuss philanthropy possibilities.”
It was at this point that Musk appeared to get miffed, saying he could not take Gates’ offer seriously, especially considering Tesla is doing its best to solve climate change.
However, Gates begged to differ. He pointed out how cars account for only 16% of emissions, and the other 84% also needs to be solved.
"I give a lot more to climate change than Elon or anyone else," Gates said. "I give a lot of philanthropic dollars, I back companies - you know electric cars are about 16% of emissions, so we also need to solve that other 84%."
The exchange also comes days after Musk had posted a vulgar tweet comparing Gates to the pregnant man emoji.
As of this writing, Gates has yet to respond to Musk’s tweet.
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