Tesla Is One of the Greatest Contributions to Climate Change Anyone’s Ever Made, Says Bill Gates

Photo: Hürriyet Teknoloji

Despite the long-standing strained relationship between Bill Gates and Elon Musk, it seems that things are not as bad as they might seem at first glance. Gates recently said that we need more Elon Musks to tackle climate change and praised Tesla's contribution to finding a solution.

Bill Gates and Elon Musk don't exactly see eye to eye, although they seem to be pursuing similar goals. While their public spats may not always be serious, they seem to be fundamentally off on a few important points. In February, Gates told Marques Brownlee in an interview that while Tesla has helped in driving innovation and adoption of electric vehicles, he recently bought a Porsche Taycan. Later, in the blog, he questioned the feasibility of creating all-electric vehicles such as 18-wheelers, possibly hinting at Tesla Semi.

However, it seems that now the relationship between entrepreneurs may change. Gates recently said on the Sway podcast that what Musk has done with Tesla is one of the greatest contributions to climate change and should not be underestimated.

"It’s important to say that what Elon did with Tesla is one of the greatest contributions to climate change anyone’s ever made. Underestimating Elon is not a good idea."

Now Gates has joined CNBC's Squawk Box and made a few more comments indicating that he may have changed his mind about Musk. In his book, “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster,” Gates pointed out several areas such as steel and cement that could be disrupted. In an interview, he said that more people like Musk are needed to make the right changes in these areas and fight climate change together.

"We need a lot of Elon Musks, including...ones who work on these super hard categories."

Gates also praised Musk's contribution to the fight against climate change, calling it probably the greatest contribution to solving the problem. He also praised Tesla for doing a fantastic job and showing how electric vehicles are an important part of this.

“I think what Elon is done with Tesla is fantastic. It’s, you know, probably the biggest single contribution to showing us that electric cars are part of how we solve climate change.”

The billionaire appreciated Tesla's work and added that “I think he [Elon] should be very proud of what he’s done.”

During the interview, Gates also noted that Musk will donate $100 million for the prize for the best technology that can capture carbon dioxide, praising him: "Elon's done a carbon capture prize, which is an amazing thing."

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