Gates reportedly shorted, or bet against, Tesla’s stock to the tune of $500 million, earning him a personal text from Musk and “super mean” behavior, Gates said in a later interview with Musk biographer Walter Isaacson. The Tesla CEO at the time asked Gates bluntly if he had taken the short position, which the Microsoft cofounder confirmed, though he added in the message he wanted to talk about philanthropy possibilities.
Musk, though, balked at the idea.
“Sorry, I cannot take your philanthropy on climate change seriously when you have a massive short position against Tesla, the company doing the most to solve climate change,” he said in a message at the time.
It’s unclear exactly when Gates opened the short position, but since April 2022, when the exchange between Gates and Musk was publicized, the EV company’s stock has shot up at least 20%, but possibly more depending on the price Gates shorted the stock at.
