Bill Gates and Elon Musk have shared somewhat of an odd relationship that has culminated in an unorthodox version of a rivalry. More recently, Gates was interviewed by the BBC, where he called Musk’s visions of eventually colonizing Mars as very expensive and never a great use of his funds because it may very well be spent on other things to enhance life here on Earth.
“It’s actually quite expensive to go to Mars,” Gates said through the interview. “You’ll be able to buy measles vaccines and save lives for $1,000 per life saved, and so it just type of grounds you, as in: don’t go to Mars.”
Gates, who was the world’s richest person at one time, has spent much of his fortune on things like vaccine development and philanthropy. He believes that, despite Musk’s commitment to the colonization of Mars, the Tesla CEO will “be an incredible philanthropist.”
“Obviously, , things like Tesla are having a positive impact, even without being a type of philanthropy.”
Musk has all the time been confused by Gates’ tone on Tesla, especially because it is the corporate that’s widely considered the undisputed leader in EVs. Moreover, it has helped move the mission of sustainability forward through not only vehicles but in addition viable energy solutions.
Gates, at one time, asked Musk if he could be serious about working together for philanthropy possibilities. “Do you continue to have a half billion dollar short position against Tesla?” Musk said in return. Gates confirmed he had not yet closed it out, and that was enough for Musk to disclaim any possibility of working together.
“Sorry, but I cannot take your philanthropy on climate change seriously when you could have an enormous short position against Tesla, the corporate doing essentially the most to unravel climate change,” Musk said.
Elon Musk shoots down Bill Gates’ request to debate philanthropy in latest leaked texts
“Well, , I believe Tesla’s an incredible company. Uh, I wish I’d, , owned, been more on the long side,” Gates said in an interview with Bloomberg just a number of days later. “But, , it’s great. And , I actually have numerous relatives who own Teslas that I’ve helped buy for them. So , nothing but positive thoughts about Tesla and its role.”
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