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Screenshots of a private exchange between Elon Musk and Bill Gates circulated on Twitter on April 22, 2022. Musk later said the messages were genuine. They appeared to show Gates proposing a discussion about climate philanthropy and Musk refusing, citing Gates’s alleged short position against Tesla. The screenshots and Musk’s authentication document the dispute; they do not independently establish the details of Gates’s alleged trade.
What happened in the Musk–Gates text exchange?
On April 22, 2022, the Twitter account Whole Mars Catalog posted screenshots said to show a text conversation between Gates and Musk. The exchange appeared to begin with Gates asking about “philanthropy possibilities” related to climate change. Musk then challenged him about whether he still had a large short position against Tesla. Gates allegedly said he had not closed it.
Musk’s reported response was that he could not take Gates’s climate philanthropy seriously while Gates was betting against Tesla. Futurism’s headline summarized the rejection as Musk telling Gates to “get lost”; that is a characterization of the dismissive response, not necessarily a verbatim line from the messages. Futurism’s April 23, 2022 report covered the screenshots and the public reaction.
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Did Musk confirm the messages were real?
Yes. Musk publicly indicated that the messages were authentic, while saying he had not leaked them to The New York Times. He speculated that they had reached the press through “friends of friends.” Whole Mars Catalog’s original post reportedly expressed uncertainty about authenticity before Musk responded.
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That is Musk’s authentication, not independent forensic verification. The available coverage does not document a separate technical examination of the screenshots or Gates’s own confirmation. TechSpot’s contemporaneous account likewise reported Musk’s confirmation and distinguished it from a claim that Musk himself had leaked the messages.
What does a Tesla short position mean?
A short seller generally borrows shares, sells them, and hopes to buy them back later for less. If the share price falls, the difference can produce a profit before costs; if it rises, buying back the shares can cost more than the sale proceeds. A short position is exposure to a share-price decline. On its own, it does not prove that the trader opposes a company’s products, mission, or industry.
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Was Gates’s alleged $500 million Tesla short confirmed?
The roughly $500 million figure was attributed to Musk, not established through a public trading disclosure from Gates. Subsequent coverage reported that Musk said the position had begun at about that amount. The available reporting does not establish when it was opened, its exact structure, who legally held it, or whether it was later closed.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsIn May 2022, Musk said the amount required to close the alleged position had grown to an estimated $1.5 billion to $2 billion as Tesla shares rose. That estimate is not the same as proof that Gates lost $1.5 billion to $2 billion: the cost to close, a position’s notional value, an unrealized loss, and a realized loss are different measures. Bloomberg’s May 28, 2022 report attributed the later estimate to Musk; Fortune’s republication also noted that Gates had previously declined to discuss his investments.
Why did Musk object?
Musk’s argument was that backing climate philanthropy while betting against Tesla was inconsistent. He has presented Tesla as a company accelerating electric-vehicle adoption, so he treated a short position against its stock as at odds with Gates’s stated climate interests.
That is Musk’s interpretation, not a settled conclusion about Gates’s motives. A short can reflect a view about a stock’s valuation, a hedge against other holdings, or a broader portfolio strategy; it does not by itself show opposition to electric vehicles or climate philanthropy. The screenshots do not explain Gates’s investment rationale.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What remains unknown?
- The exact account holder and structure of the alleged short, including whether it involved shares, derivatives, or an investment vehicle.
- When the position began, whether it changed over time, and whether or when it was closed.
- The position’s eventual realized profit or loss, if any.
- How the screenshots reached the public; Musk denied leaking them, but the route was not established in the cited coverage.
InsideEVs’ contemporaneous coverage placed the exchange in the context of an already public Musk–Gates dispute, but the episode itself is best understood through the limits of what the messages and later claims actually establish.
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