When they were both at the same meeting in early 2022, Bill Gates said to Elon Musk, "Hey, I'd love to come see you and talk about philanthropy and climate." Musk had recently put $5.7 billion into a charitable fund of his own, due to taxes, and Gates wanted to make suggestions. They had interacted positively a few times before, including when Gates took his son Rory to SpaceX. Musk could relate to someone who built a company through sheer dedication and hard work. So they connected and agreed to meet in Austin, and when Gates landed, Musk sent Omead Afshar to meet him at the Gigafactory's entrance.
Musk and Gates share some qualities. They have analytic minds and an intense focus, and a confidence that they can border on arrogance. They also do not take kindly to foolishness. All of these traits made it likely they would eventually disagree, which is what happened when Musk gave Gates a tour of the factory. Gates rebutted that batteries would never be able to power large semitrucks and solar energy would not help the climate crisis much. However, Gates was impressed by the factory and Musk's knowledge of every machine and process. He also appreciated SpaceX's contribution to providing internet from space.
When the conversation shifted to philanthropy, Musk believed much of it was "bullshit," claiming there was only 20 cents of impact for every dollar donated. He thought investing in Tesla was a better way to help the climate. Gates disputed this, saying he had five projects of $100 million each - in refugees, American schools, an AIDS cure, mosquito eradication, and GM seeds for climate resilience - and he offered to write Musk a detailed description of the ideas.
The visit ended with a conflict over Gates' short sale of Tesla stock, which had cost him $1.5 billion. Musk was outraged, and it highlighted their differing perspectives. Gates explained that he had calculated that the supply of electric cars would get ahead of demand, causing prices to fall. Musk could not comprehend why someone would do this if they were passionate about fighting climate change, and inferred that it was a "dick-measuring contest."
Gates followed up in mid-April, sending Musk the paper on the philanthropy projects. But Musk's response was to ask, "Do you still have a half billion dollar short position against Tesla?" Gates tried to change the subject, but it was to no avail. Musk eventually took to Twitter to call Gates out, posting a picture with a caption implying he had a "boner."
Gates was confused about why Musk was so enraged, and Musk was equally perplexed that Gates did not understand. Later on, in a group discussion in which people were denigrating Musk, Gates defended him, saying no one in their time had done more to push boundaries in science and innovation.
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