Bill Gates Explains Why His Tesla Short Position Shouldn't Hurt Elon Musk

Bill Gates earned the displeasure of Tesla, Inc. TSLA chief executive officer Elon Musk by taking a short position against the EV maker.

A chat between the two that was leaked on Twitter in April showed Musk refusing to work with Gates on philanthropy or climate change initiatives, as Gates was trying to profit from a fall in Tesla stock. The Tesla CEO also said this is contradictory to Gates' desire to fight climate change and that he should be supporting Tesla's electric vehicle development.
In an interview with a French YouTube channel "Hugo Decrypte" that was aired on Thursday, Gates was asked if Musk is right in taking such a stance.

Gates responded by saying. Tesla isn't short of capital, and the company has done a "fantastic job." He also said the company's cars are great.

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The Microsoft Corporation MSFT founder noted that he gives a lot more money to efforts addressing climate change than Musk or anyone else for that matter.

Gates pointed out that cars account for only 16% of emissions, and the other 84% also needs to be solved. Although he acknowledged that Musk has "done a great job." 

"Somebody shorting his stock doesn't slow him down or hurt him in any way," Gates added.

As recently as late last month, Musk in a Twitter chat with his followers said Gates' Tesla short bet may have ballooned, and the latter would need about $1.5 billion to $2 billion to cover the short position.

Tesla closed Friday's session down 9.22% at $703.55, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo: Courtesy of Greg Rubenstein and TED Conference on Flickr