Bill Gates Thinks All-Electric Pickups Aren't A 'Practical Solution'

Microsoft Corporation MSFT co-founder Bill Gates doubts if electric trucks would ever be a “practical solution” for heavy lifting over large distances.

Big Heavy Batteries Are A Drag: Gates said in a blog post late last month that electrification isn't an option for many types of transportation even if cheap, long-range electric vehicles are developed.

The billionaire wrote that while breakthroughs could be made in battery technology, the problem is batteries are “big and heavy.”

“Electricity works when you need to cover short distances, but we need a different solution for heavy, long-haul vehicles,” said Gates.

Gates point to alternative fuels such as biofuels and electrofuels.

While biofuels are plant-based and agricultural byproducts, electrofuels are made using electricity, he observed. 

“Switching to electric vehicles and alternative fuels is the most effective way we can move toward zero emissions from the transportation sector,” Gates wrote.

Gates Backs EV Battery Startup: Touching on developments in battery technology, Gates posted a video from QuantumScape, a solid-state battery company backed by him and Volkswagen AG VWAGY. Gates has invested both his personal funds and those from his Breakthrough Energy Ventures in the company.

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Musk, Who? While Gates named several companies such as legacy automakers General Motors Company GM and Ford Motor Company F and new debutants such as Rivian and Bollinger in his blog, Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc TSLA gained no mention. 

The former chief executive of Microsoft purchased a Porsche Taycan Turba, which he described as “very, very cool” in an interview with the YouTube star Marques Brownlee in February.

Musk retorted to the interview at the time on Twitter calling his conversations with Gates “underwhelming.”

Photo courtesy: World Economic Forum via Wikimedia