①The world's richest man, Elon Musk, warned former richest man Bill Gates to close out his Tesla short positions if he hasn't already; ②Previously, a tech blogger claimed that the Gates Foundation was selling Microsoft shares and unwinding Tesla short positions; ③The feud between Musk and Gates has been longstanding. Although Gates may not have profited from shorting Tesla, Musk still harbors resentment.
Elon Musk, the world's richest person, issued a warning to former richest person Bill Gates over the weekend, stating that if Gates has not yet fully closed out his nearly eight-year-old $Tesla (TSLA.US)$ short position, he should act more quickly.
Gates' prolonged shorting of Tesla stock is one of the key reasons for Musk's enduring dissatisfaction with him. Musk pointed out that Gates shorted the company at a critical moment for Tesla, undermining the confidence of ordinary Tesla investors.
Musk’s latest warning stems from information posted by a tech blogger on Sunday. The account Tesla Owners Silicon Valley noted that the Gates Foundation is selling its Microsoft shares, cashing out nearly $9 billion, while Gates is also closing out his Tesla short positions.
Musk’s warning to Gates may be an outlet for his long-standing frustration with Tesla short sellers, but it also reveals his firm belief in the future rise of Tesla’s stock price.
Earlier this month, Tesla shareholders approved Musk’s trillion-dollar compensation package, granting him the right to acquire a substantial amount of Tesla shares and further expanding his influence over Tesla, leaving him full of confidence.
At the start of trading on Monday, Tesla's stock price rose more than 3%, reaching $416.89.
Longstanding Discord Between the World's Richest
As of the end of October, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index showed that Elon Musk, with a net worth of $469 billion, firmly holds the title of the world's richest person, surpassing Larry Ellison, chairman of Oracle, by nearly $150 billion. Meanwhile, Bill Gates once held the title of the world’s richest person for 13 consecutive years during the internet era due to founding Microsoft.
In April 2022, Musk revealed that he canceled a climate change charity donation meeting with Gates after discovering that Gates had spent $500 million shorting Tesla stock.
Additionally, Gates’ skepticism about Tesla’s semi-electric trucks also irritated Musk. These accumulated conflicts have led to years of discord between the two billionaires.
Despite the fact that shorting Tesla once cost Gates a significant amount of money, with estimated losses of around USD 1.5 billion in 2022, Musk still could not let go of his conflict with Gates.
Musk also publicly commented on a show that, based on his direct communication with Gates, he found Gates' scientific literacy to be rather low. Over the past decade, Gates has been an advocate on issues such as climate, population, and vaccines, and is considered one of the wealthiest individuals who has donated the most to the scientific community.
Editor /rice
