Bill Gates backtracks on Elon Musk, announces $333 million offer to buy X: Musk’s immediate reaction rocks the internet!
Musk posted on X, “If Tesla becomes the most valuable company in the world, that short position bankrupts even Bill Gates.” Musk’s statement was a response to a user X, Teslaconomics, who shared an old tweet of his. In the 2023 tweet, the CEO stated that taking a short position against Tesla, as Bill Gates did, would only yield the highest return if Tesla were to go bankrupt. Musk also claimed that Gates had placed a massive bet on Tesla’s demise during a vulnerable period for the company. He further stated that such a large short position can drive down the stock price, hurting everyday investors.
“As far as I know, Gates *still* has that massive bet against Tesla on the table. Someone should ask him if he does. The lack of self-awareness and hypocrisy of Gates that he had the nerve to ask me to donate to his environmental causes is mostly out of the question, while simultaneously pretending to make $500 million off Tesla’s demise,” the tweet further reads.
When asked about his investment during a 2021 CNBC interview, Gates chose not to comment on his positions, but instead praised Tesla’s achievements, saying, “What Elon has done with Tesla is fantastic.”
Shorting is a stock market strategy in which an investor takes shares they don’t own, sells them at the current price, and then aims to buy them back later at a lower price. The investor profits from the difference between the initial sale price and the lower purchase price, essentially betting on the stock’s decline
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Elon Musk’s statement comes as Tesla’s current market capitalization is approximately $1.251 trillion, substantially lower than Apple’s $3.729 trillion. To surpass Apple and become the world’s most valuable company, Tesla would need to experience remarkable growth of nearly 200%.