Bill Gates on Elon Musk: “I Talked to Elon Recently, He Talks a Lot, I Hope He Talks More About Climate”

In a recent Bloomberg interview, former Microsoft CEO and fellow billionaire Bill Gates discussed climate change and Elon Musk's diminishing role in that conversation.

Bill Gates’ comments follow years of confrontation between the two inventors, which first began when news broke that Bill Gates had bet billions of dollars predicting that Tesla would fall.

Musk and Gates’ disagreement further escalated when the former Microsoft CEO said that Semi-trucks, given their weight and the distance they travel, do not lend themselves to electric powertrains.

However, this contrasts with Tesla's ambitious plans. The company recently broke ground on and is making rapid progress on an all-electric semi factory that promises to revolutionize the industry, producing 50,000 Tesla Semis per year.

Returning to the interview, the interviewer asks Bill Gates, “In the climate fight, one of the other people most associated with green technology is Elon Musk. Do you talk to him much these days?”

In response, Gates says, “I’ve talked to Elon recently. We were at an event called The Breakthrough Prize in Los Angeles. I said hi to him, but ahm, Tesla is a huge contributor to driving the car industry towards electric vehicles.”

The interviewer follows up, “On Tesla, more than anyone else, Elon has shown that green technology and solutions can be cool and exciting. Are you disappointed that Elon doesn’t really seem to talk much about climate these days? He is sort of moved. He’s more interested in talking about culture wars and other issues.”

Bill Gates on @elonmusk in new interview: "He talks a lot. I hope he talks more about climate. He’s very smart and has made a contribution within that area that is super important; He's unique and will talk about whatever he feels like." pic.twitter.com/RntqQjXIEZ
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) July 20, 2024

Bill Gates, in response, chuckling, says, “He talks a lot. I hope he talks more about climate. He’s very smart. He has made a contribution within that area, which is super important.”

Interviewer, “When he talks about climate, what would you like him to say? Gates: “I don’t think he will listen to anyone telling him what to talk about, so he’s unique, and he will talk about whatever he wants.”

During his interview, Bill Gates and the host echoed the sentiment of the broader Tesla community that Musk has become less interested in Tesla since acquiring Twitter back in 2022.

Before Musk bought the social media platform, most of his focus was on advancing electric vehicles, and he was one of the loudest proponents of transitioning to sustainable energy.

Related News: Ford Explorer Hit My Tesla Cybertruck Head-On at Highway Speeds – Feeling Bored Writing This Update From the Hospital

However, as the interviewer pointed out, Musk, in recent years, has been more interested in talking about cultural issues.

Given Bill Gates's more reserved demeanor, at least as compared to Elon Musk, the former Microsoft CEO did not come and outright criticize Musk but still conveyed his wish for Musk to discuss climate change more.

24 Hours After I Picked Up My Tesla Cybertruck, My Wife Waved her Hands & Shattered the Cybertruck Windshield With Her Wedding Ring @Tesla @elonmusk #Tesla https://t.co/TOp6uaRpDH
— Torque News (@torquenewsauto) July 19, 2024

Since Elon Musk is the biggest Tesla shareholder, with more than 20% ownership of the company, it’s surprising that Musk does not bring about the issue of climate change anymore.

It’s reasonable to assume that Musk is distracted by his several ventures and has to balance various interests before deciding to put Tesla front and center.

However, in Musk’s defense, the Tesla CEO’s relative silence about climate change and electric vehicles might be related to his belief that EV technology can compete with internal combustion vehicles without subsidies.

Musk likes to say that Tesla aims to produce not only the best EVs but also the best vehicles sporting any powertrain. If Musk succeeds in creating the best vehicles in the world, it stands to reason that he doesn’t need to use the issue of climate change to sell more cars.

Having said that, it’s still surprising to see publicly how little attention Elon Musk gives Tesla and policies affecting electric vehicles.

The optimist in me likes to believe maybe Musk thinks Tesla has succeeded as a company and no longer needs his constant support to save it from bankruptcy.

Ford Explorer Hit My Tesla Cybertruck Head-On at Highway Speeds – Feeling Bored Writing This Update From the Hospital @Tesla @elonmusk #Tesla https://t.co/5mDXGRbZgQ
— Torque News (@torquenewsauto) July 20, 2024

Overall, although he was given the opportunity to criticize Musk, it’s good to see Bill Gates hold back and inject some civility into the conversation between him and his Tesla counterpart.

Currently, this is all the information we’ve regarding Musk, Gates, and Tesla. However, we will be sure to keep you posted when we receive an update on the story. Until then, make sure to visit our site, torquenews.com/Tesla, regularly for the latest updates.

So, what do you think? Are you surprised to see Bill Gates’ comments about Elon Musk? Also, do you think Musk abandoned Tesla after he bought Twitter? Let us know your thoughts in the comments by clicking the red “Add new comment” button below.

Image: Screenshot from Bloomberg’s Bill Gates Interview

For more information, check out: 24 Hours After I Picked Up My Tesla Cybertruck, My Wife Waved her Hands & Shattered the Cybertruck Windshield With Her Wedding Ring

Tinsae Aregay has been following Tesla and the evolution of the EV space daily for several years. He covers everything about Tesla, from the cars to Elon Musk, the energy business, and autonomy. Follow Tinsae on Twitter at @TinsaeAregay for daily Tesla news.