- Elon Musk said in a tweet on Sunday that he is “moving on” from “mocking” Bill Gates.
- Musk had previously confirmed a leaked text conversation calling out Gates for shorting Tesla stock.
- The Tesla CEO also posted a meme mocking Gates’ weight on Friday.
Elon Musk said he’s “moving on” from “mocking” Bill Gates after leaked texts revealed the Microsoft founder shortened Tesla.
After Musk initially shared a vague tweet on Sunday that led many to speculate that he may be holding back recent attempts to buy Twitter, the billionaire CEO of Tesla went on to clarify that the post was referring to Gates. On Friday, Musk confirmed the truth of leaked text messages between the two tech moguls in which Musk turned down a request from Gates to discuss a potential philanthropic venture because of his “massive short against Tesla.”
—Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 24, 2022
“I’m sorry, but I can’t take your climate change philanthropy seriously when you have a massive short position against Tesla, the company doing the most to solve climate change,” Musk wrote in a text message to Gates, according to reports. screenshots.
The text came after Musk asked if Gates still had “a $500 million short position against Tesla.” A short position generally involves betting that a share’s value will fall by selling a borrowed share with the intention of buying it back later at a lower price.
“I’m sorry to say I haven’t closed it,” Gates replied, according to the screenshots. “I would like to discuss the possibilities of philanthropy.”
Musk subsequently posted a meme on Friday that featured a photo of Gates juxtaposed next to an image of a pregnant man emoji, apparently making fun of his weight.
Musk’s clarification of his initial tweet came after multiple users asked him if that meant he was backing down on his attempt to buy Twitter. The move has caused quite a stir in which experts have predicted that Musk could go ahead with a hostile takeover of the social platform.
On Thursday, Musk confirmed that he had obtained funding to buy Twitter from banks and other entities, stating in a regulatory filing on Thursday that he had committed to “providing a total of approximately $46.5 billion” to buy the company.
The filing was a response to Twitter’s “poison pill” defense of blocking Musk’s bid, a tactic also known as a shareholder rights plan, which essentially dilutes a company’s stock by increasing the total number of shares. on the market in an effort to avoid being acquired against their will.
The shareholder rights plan, unveiled by Twitter in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Monday, would kick in if any “entity, person or group” obtained more than 15% of Twitter stock. Musk currently owns 9.1% of the company’s shares.
However, the funding confirmation puts Musk in a position to use a traditional hostile takeover approach called a public offering in which Musk can offer shareholders cash for their shares at a price higher than their market value. His next move at this point remains to be seen.
Earlier this month, Musk was named to Twitter’s board of directors after announcing his large stake in the company, a role he initially accepted before turning it down. Just a few days later, he made an offer to buy the social media company.