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Elon Musk has said that Bill Gates could face bankruptcy if the Tesla stock surges 200%.
If that happened then it would make Tesla the most valuable company in the world.
Apple currently has the top spot and Musk’s firm would need to grow significantly in order to topple the tech giant.
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Musk’s latest comments on Gates come after one user on X, formerly Twitter, posted a tweet the SpaceX CEO had made in 2023.
It read: “Just so that the public understands: Taking out a short position against Tesla, as Gates did, results in the highest return only if a company goes bankrupt!
“Gates placed a massive bet on Tesla dying when our company was at one of its weakest moments several years ago. Such a big short position also drives the stock down for everyday investors.
“To the best of my knowledge, Gates *still* has that massive bet against Tesla on the table. Someone should ask him if he does.
“The lack of self-awareness and hypocrisy of Gates who had the nerve to ask me to donate to his mostly window-dressing environmental causes, while simultaneously aiming to make $500M from Tesla’s demise, boggles the mind…”
Sharing the old tweet, the user added: “This is why it’s a big ‘f*** you’ to Bill Gates since day 1.”
Musk took to his own social media platform to reply to the user, saying: “If Tesla does become the world’s most valuable company by far, that short position will bankrupt even Bill Gates.”
If Tesla does become the world’s most valuable company by far, that short position will bankrupt even Bill Gates
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 10, 2024
Gates was asked about his investment in Tesla during a CNBC interview in 2021, but the mogul refused to comment.
Instead, he said: “What Elon’s done with Tesla is fantastic.”
Speaking to Walter Isaacson for his 2023 biography of Musk, the Tesla boss said: “How can someone say they are passionate about fighting climate change and then do something that reduced the overall investment in the company doing the most?”
But despite their differences, Gates mentioned Musk’s work at a dinner in Washington DC, saying: “There is no one in our time who has done more to push the bounds of science and innovation than he has.”
And Gates’ short position doesn’t seem to have impacted Musk’s wealth as he is considered to be the richest person in the world with a net worth of $376 billion.
Gates comes in sixth place with an estimated wealth of $166 billion.
It’s thought that Musk will become the world’s first trillionaire, a milestone he could achieve by 2027.
