Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
Elon Musk’s 2023 biography by Walter Isaacson revealed that Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, has incurred a $1.5 billion loss over the past few years due to a short position in Tesla.
Since Bill Gates confirmed in a leaked text exchange with Elon Musk—later verified by Musk in April 2022—that he still held his short position against Tesla, the company’s shares have surged by over 40%. However, it remains unclear whether Gates still holds the position. If so, and if Tesla stock continues surging next year, Musk warns that it could bankrupt “even” Bill Gates.
When investors short a stock, they bet that its price will drop. They sell borrowed shares at the current price and plan to buy them back later at a lower price to make a profit.
When asked in a live CNBC interview in February 2021 if he was shorting Tesla stock, Gates responded, “I don’t talk about my investments,” and stated that he was neither shorting nor owning Bitcoin at the time. Here’s the CNBC segment:
However, in April 2022, Musk asked directly if the billionaire was still holding his position. “Do you still have a half billion dollar short position against Tesla?,” he wrote.
Gates replied confirming it and inviting Musk to discuss philanthropy possibilities. “Sorry to say I haven’t closed it out. I would like to discuss philanthropy possibilities.” The messages were leaked by the NYT and confirmed by Musk in late April 2022.
Musk replied to Gates saying, “Sorry, I cannot take your philanthropy on climate change seriously when you have a massive short position against Tesla, the company doing the most to solve climate change.”
This week, as Tesla shares reached an all-time high of nearly $430, Musk commented on the case again on X, stating, “If Tesla does become the world’s most valuable company by far, that short position will bankrupt even Bill Gates.”
Registration data released on Tuesday showed that Tesla registered 21,900 vehicles in China between December 2 and 8, marking its third-highest weekly figure in the past three years.
Earlier this week, Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas had also increased the firm’s price target on the stock to $400 from $310 while naming Tesla as the firm’s top pick.
Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
