In a recent podcast, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk criticized Bill Gates‘ scientific knowledge, despite Gates’ Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) being a tech giant.
Bill Gates’ Tesla Gigafactory Visit
Musk made these comments on the All-In Podcast hosted by Chamath Palihapitiya, Jason Calacanis, David Sacks & David Friedberg on Saturday, where he recounted a meeting with Gates at Tesla’s Gigafactory in Austin, where Gates expressed skepticism about the feasibility of Tesla’s long-range electric semi-truck.
“He came to visit me at the Tesla Gigafactory in Austin and was telling me that it’s impossible to have a long-range semi truck,” Musk said. He pointed out that such vehicles were already in operation, with companies like PepsiCo using them. However, Gates was adamant that a long-range semi-truck was impossible.
“You’d think he’d be really quite…strong in the sciences. but actually my at least direct conversations with him have…he is not strong in the sciences,” Musk said.
He said that he told Gates to either drive the trucks himself or send someone he trusted to do so. However, Bill Gates continued to be dismissive of the semi truck, recalled Musk. ‘No, no, it doesn’t work. It doesn’t work.’ said Gates as per Musk.
Musk told Gates that he seemed to disagree with the battery pack's watt-hours per kilogram, suggesting that Gates might believe Tesla could not achieve the required energy density or that the truck's watt-hours per mile were too high, which together would result in a lower range.
Musk then questioned Gates, “And so which one of those numbers do you think we have wrong? And what numbers do you think are correct? However, the Microsoft co-founder reportedly “did not know” the answers.
The Tesla CEO concluded by suggesting that Gates’ skepticism might be premature, given his lack of knowledge about the truck’s technical specifications.
Gates Draws Criticism For Shorting Tesla
Musk’s comments are the latest in a series of public disputes between the two tech titans. Earlier this year, Gates acknowledged Musk’s brilliance but also mentioned that Musk had been “mean to me at times.”
In July, Musk accused Gates of betting $500 million on Tesla’s demise and then asking for a donation to his climate philanthropy.
Last week, Chamath Palihapitiya accused Gates of losing a fortune by shorting Tesla amid a shift in his climate stance. These public disagreements highlight the growing tension between the two billionaires. Gates had taken a short position against Tesla in 2022, angering CEO Elon Musk, who later revealed their private text exchange after Gates had reached out to discuss potential climate change collaborations.
Benzinga's Edge Rankings place Tesla in the 80th percentile for quality and the 3rd percentile for value, reflecting mixed performance. Check the detailed report here.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
