According to Financial Associated Press on December 11, during the local time in the U.S. on Tuesday (December 10), the long-standing feud between American billionaires Musk and Bill Gates seems to be continuing. On that day, Musk jokingly stated on the X platform that Gates' short position in Tesla could eventually lead him to bankruptcy.
Musk wrote in response to a tweet on X: "If Tesla really becomes the highest valued company in the world, then these short positions could even bankrupt Bill Gates."
Musk refers to Gates' shorting of Tesla with billions of dollars spent years ago.
According to Walter Isaacson's biography of Musk published in 2023, Gates holds undisclosed short positions in Tesla that are reportedly worth billions of dollars.
By the end of 2023, Musk also expressed angrily on X, "A few years ago, when our company was at one of its weakest moments, Gates bet on Tesla's bankruptcy. Such a large short position has caused ordinary investors to suffer losses from the drop in stock prices; as far as I know, Gates is still betting on Tesla's bankruptcy. Someone should ask him if he did that."
Musk pointed out at the time: "Gates lacks self-awareness and is so hypocritical that it's astonishing; he dares to ask me to donate to his environmentally friendly project mainly for show, while also wanting to profit $500 million from Tesla's bankruptcy..."
Currently, it is unclear whether Gates has increased or decreased his short bets against Tesla since then.
So far this year, Tesla's stock price has soared by 62.5%, largely benefiting from Republican candidate Trump's victory in the U.S. elections, and Musk, a supporter of Trump, is increasingly close to the new government.
Currently, in terms of wealth, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Musk remains at the top with a net worth of $376.2 billion, while Gates is in sixth place with a wealth of $165.9 billion.
It is worth noting that the two individuals who have both held the title of the world's richest have publicly clashed in more than just the shorting of Tesla. From their attitudes towards the COVID-19 pandemic, views on electric trucks, to entanglements surrounding artificial intelligence, and their mutual evaluations, both have had significant disagreements in recent years. Some industry insiders have recently speculated whether Musk, with a strong sense of retaliation, would 'take private revenge' against some of his business rivals after taking a prominent role in Trump's team.
Regarding the shorting of Tesla, Gates responded in an interview in 2022, saying: "Tesla is doing great. My investments in climate change exceed those of Musk or anyone else. He is doing well, but the short-sellers have not harmed him in any way."
Gates later stated, "When he found out that I was shorting his stock, he became particularly nasty towards me, but he is nasty to many people, so you can't take it too seriously."