Bill Gates and Elon Musk are two of the world’s top four wealthiest people, with a net worth of roughly $270 billion and $130 billion, respectively. The rivalry does not stop at which billionaire has the most money when it comes to these individuals. Elon Musk was reportedly irritated by Bill Gates’s lack of faith in Tesla’s future, so he abandoned Microsoft founder Bill Gates high and dry.
According to leaked text messages, the two billionaires had a heated debate that ended in acrimony. Musk tells Gates to go away in what began as a charity opportunity.
An account named “Whole Mars Catalog” tweeted a series of photos purportedly showing text messages between Bill Gates and Elon Musk.
The following purported text messages appear to be from Gates attempting to arrange a meeting with Elon Musk to talk about climate change philanthropy: Bill Gates seems to confirm a date and time for a talk with Musk about a potential opportunity – to which Elon Musk responded, “Great.” Gates informed the Tesla CEO that he had just touched down, and Musk replied, “Cool.”
Musk then sent Gates a text that read, “Do you still have a $500 million short position on Tesla?”
“Sorry to say, I have not closed it out yet,” Gates said.
“I’d want to talk about potential philanthropic possibilities,” Gates informed Musk in one of the exchanges, according to screenshots.
Musk then supposedly banned the entire meet-up after Gates wagered against Tesla.
“Sorry, but I can’t respect your environmental activism while you have a large short position against Tesla, the firm doing the most to mitigate global warming,” Musk is said to have stated.
He responded, “I don’t think they’re real.” When asked if the text messages to Bill Gates were genuine, Musk replied that they are authentic but not leaked.
“But I did not leak it to the New York Times,” Musk tweeted. “They must have gotten it from someone they know. Gates still had a half billion dollars short against Tesla, which is the reason why I asked him, so it is not exactly top secret,” Musk tweeted further.
Musk did not say when the texts were sent.
A short position is defined as “when a trader sells a security first with the goal of repurchasing or covering it at a lower price later.” A trader may decide to put up a short bet on a stock when she believes that its value will drop in the near future.
In a February 2021 podcast with “The Joe Rogan Experience,” Musk mentioned that Bill Gates had shorted Tesla stock.
“I’ve heard he had a big short position at one point,” Elon Musk revealed on Joe Rogan’s podcast. “I don’t know if that’s true or not, but it does seem strange.”
“People I know, who are familiar with the situation,” Musk said, “I asked them, ‘Are you sure?’ They responded, ‘Yes: He has a significant short position on Tesla.’ That didn’t work out too well.”
Elon Musk also trolled Bill Gates with a message that juxtaposed an image of the Microsoft founder with a pregnant male emoji.
in case u need to lose a boner fast pic.twitter.com/fcHiaXKCJi
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 23, 2022
In February, Rogan also poked fun Gates’ physique.
Rogan slammed Bill Gates, “And you also look like crap. If you are still eating those burgers that are plant-based or whatever the f*** you are doing, you are obese.”
“That guy telling people about — he has this gut and these breasts, and I’m like, ‘This is ridiculous,’ “ Rogan continued to roast Gates. “You’re one of the richest men on the planet. You have easy access to some of the best nutrients on earth… you could have an incredible trainer who can help you get in fantastic shape… And yet you’re sick,”
Rogan ranted, “How are you providing advice on health when you look like that. Your health is in terrible shape.”