Tesla CEO Elon Musk slammed Bill Gates, accusing him of being clueless about the viability of electric trucks.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has clapped back at tech billionaire Bill Gates who raised doubts about his ability to develop an electric vehicle for long-haul travel. Responding to a Twitter follower who asked his opinion about Gates’ remarks on the viability of electric trucks, Musk replied: “He has no clue.”
Many exciting things will be unveiled on Battery Day 9/22 ⚡️
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 11, 2020
Gates revealed his thoughts on electric vehicles in a post on GatesNotes, The Blog of Bill Gates. In the post, he wrote that “better and cheaper batteries … will hopefully make EVs a realistic option for every car owner.”
The American business magnate cast doubt on whether the existing or even future battery tech could ramp up to juice up larger vehicles. “Even with big breakthroughs in battery technology, electric vehicles will probably never be a practical solution for things 8-wheelers, cargo ships, and passenger jets. Electricity works when you need to cover short distances, but we need a different solution for heavy, long-haul vehicles,” the Microsoft co-founder wrote.
Gates went on to suggest that alternative fuels such as biofuels or electrofuels could better, greener ways to power larger vehicles such as trucks. He said batteries are too big and heavy for longer distances.
Gates lauded several vehicle makers for producing all-electric pick up including Bollinger, Rivian, Ford, GM, but did not mention the Cybertruck pickup maker Tesla. Musk’s company is also working on an electric truck.
Unveiled in 2017, the Tesla Semi was slated to be shipped to the customer last year, but the vehicle is two years behind schedule, with Tesla now expecting to get the vehicle to owners in 2021. This isn’t the first time the two billionaires have taken jabs at each other.
Gates has blasted Musk for his inaccurate public comments about COVID-19. Musk said earlier this year that his conversations with Gates were underwhelming after the Microsoft billionaire revealed that his first electric vehicle was a Porsche Taycan and not a Tesla.
