After Bill Gates revealed that he had bought his first-ever electric car, the Microsoft co-founder surprised some by announcing it was a Porsche Taycan, rather than the acclaimed Tesla series. Now, Tesla owner Elon Musk has responded.
Gates, who is now focused primarily on philanthropic work on global health and climate change, revealed that he had bought the “premium price” Taycan during his interview with tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee.
While praising the car as “really cool,” he also admitted that generally, electric vehicles have their shortcomings, namely price and total range possible on a single charge.
When speaking to Brownlee, Gates said that electric passenger vehicles are one of the most “hopeful” areas for reducing emissions, and praised Tesla as “one of the companies that has helped drive that.”
But, he still opted for the Porsche Taycan himself, which came to the surprise of some Tesla fans. Twitter account Tesletter, who creates an “unofficial Tesla newsletter,” expressed disappointment about Gates’ remarks.
I'm disappointed because a lot of people are going to watch the interview and they are going to trust Bill's word for it and not even consider EVs. Why? Because Bill Gates is a really smart guy!
— Tesletter (@tesletter) February 18, 2020
Elon Musk responds to Bill Gates
This prompted a response from the Tesla co-founder himself, Elon Musk. He simply stated that “My conversations with Gates have been underwhelming [to be honest].”
My conversations with Gates have been underwhelming tbh
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 18, 2020
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
It’s unclear what these conversations were, or if they related to electric vehicles at all. Musk clearly doesn’t feel the same way as Bill Gates when it comes to the issue of charging being such a major issue, primarily due to Tesla’s “supercharging.”
When speaking to Brownlee, the Microsoft co-founder said that gasoline is still a more “dense” energy source, and so, while dirty, is often simply more convenient, if wanting to travel long-distances especially.
Other than the ‘premium’ which still applies to electric cars, this was his only real complaint about them at all, while also highlighting benefits such as reduced maintenance costs, and the price of gas itself.
Musk did admit that he was impressed by Bill Gates’ chair-jumping abilities, however.
True, that was pretty impressive
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 18, 2020
The two tech pioneers are both now focused on areas that will help the environment. Add to this Jeff Bezos’ pledge of $10 billion for climate change, and there is certainly a focus from these three multi, multi-billionaires to help the planet.
According to the latest figures, Amazon boss Jeff Bezos leads the three with a net worth of $115bn, followed by Gates on $109bn, and Musk with $40bn.
