Following Twitter’s acquisition for $44 billion late last month, one billionaire is questioning how the new owner’s guidance will affect the company.
Bill Gates says Elon Musk “could make [Twitter] worse,” adding that onlookers should have an open mind and be careful not to underestimate him, according to a report from Business Insider.
Gates made the comments at The Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council Summit in London, England on Wednesday.
Bill Gates Admits $500 Million Bet Against Tesla, Confirms Elon Musk https://t.co/Oyjvfc5LUP
— TeslaNorth.com (@RealTeslaNorth) April 23, 2022
At the summit, Gates said, “He actually could make it worse.” Gates continued, “That’s not his track record. I mean his track record with Tesla and SpaceX is pretty mind-blowing at putting together a great team of engineers and taking the people who work in those fields in a less bold way and really showing them up. I kind of doubt that will happen this time, but we should have an open mind and never underestimate Elon.”
“We should have an open mind and never underestimate Elon,” added Gates.
When asked about the jabs thrown by Musk recently, Gates said, “that doesn’t bother me.” Musk recently took offence to Gates confirming he was shorting Tesla, to the tune of $500 million dollars.
Asked outright if he’s shorting Tesla stock? Gates didn’t answer, but said one’s climate change pledge should not be tied to whether they are short or long on Tesla.
“It’s possible the stock went down and whoever shorted the stock made money, I don’t know. did it go down in the last month? I don’t think whether one’s short or long Tesla is a statement about your seriousness about climate change. I’m putting billions of dollars into climate change innovation. I applaud Tesla’s role in helping with climate change. I have nothing but positive things to say about Elon. If he makes Twitter worse, fine I’ll speak out about that,” said Gates.
A report says that Musk could take Twitter public again in just three years, as detailed by a few sources familiar with the matter.
Despite his recent takeover, a judge also denied Musk’s bid to end oversight of his Twitter from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last month, an agreement that came from a 2018 tweet from the Tesla CEO saying he secured funding to take Tesla private.
