2 hours ago
Last Updated:February 26, 2026, 20:33 IST
A report by The Wall Street Journal stated that Bill Gates addressed employees and apologised in connection with his past association with Jeffrey Epstein.
Tesla owner Elon Musk
A long-standing clash between Elon Musk and Bill Gates has flared up again, this time over a comment about Tesla short sellers. The fresh row started after Musk reacted to a post on X that criticised investors betting against his electric car company.
An X user wrote, “I’ve often found that Tesla short sellers don’t have the best moral compass," referring to a New York Times report that said Gates had apologised to staff at the Gates Foundation over his past association with Jeffrey Epstein and admitted to affairs with two Russian women. Musk replied: “Karma is real".
Elon Musk and Bill Gates’s Feud
The row between the two billionaires is not new. It goes back from Gates’ decision several years ago to short Tesla shares, reportedly by about USD 500 million.
Short selling involves borrowing shares and selling them at current market price, hoping to buy them back later at a lower price. If the share price falls, the investor makes profit. If it rises, the losses increase.
Details of their strained exchange were described in Walter Isaacson’s biography of Musk. According to the book, Musk confronted Gates directly after learning about the short position. Gates admitted that he had taken the bet but also showed interest in discussing joint philanthropic work, particularly around climate change.
Musk was unimpressed. He responded, “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".
Isaacson wrote that at one stage Gates’ short position was about USD 1.5 billion underwater when Tesla shares were trading at USD 400. The stock is now trading at around USD 417 per share.
The public sparring has continued in recent months. In late 2024, Musk posted, “If Tesla does become the world’s most valuable company by far, that short position will bankrupt even Bill Gates". After shareholders approved his USD 1 trillion pay package last year, Musk added another warning: “If Gates hasn’t fully closed out the crazy short position he has held against Tesla for ~8 years, he had better do so soon".
Bill Gates’ Remarks To Staff
A report by The Wall Street Journal stated that Bill Gates addressed employees and apologised in connection with his past association with Jeffrey Epstein. According to the newspaper, Gates acknowledged having two affairs with Russian women, which Epstein later became aware of. Speaking about the late financier, Gates said: “I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit."
The renewed attention follows the release of documents by the US Department of Justice in January, which brought Gates’ past interactions with Epstein back into public discussion.
Gates, 70, the co-founder of Microsoft, has not been accused of wrongdoing by any of Epstein’s victims.
As per the WSJ, Gates described it as a “huge mistake to spend time with Epstein", while maintaining that he “never spent any time with victims, the women around him".
“I apologise to other people who are drawn into this because of the mistake that I made," he told staff, the newspaper reported, adding that it had reviewed a recording of his comments.
First Published:
February 26, 2026, 20:33 IST
News world 'Karma Is Real': Elon Musk Takes Swipe After Bill Gates' Apology Over Epstein Links
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