Why Elon Musk has slammed Bill Gates yet again
What's the story
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, has once again taken a dig at Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates over his long-standing short position against Tesla. The feud was reignited when Musk suggested that Gates should close the bet if he hasn't already done so. The comment came after a post on social media platform X claimed that Gates is covering his Tesla short position.
Market strategy
Musk's warning to Gates
Responding to the post, Musk warned Gates to close his short position in Tesla. "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," Musk wrote on X. This isn't the first time Musk has criticized Gates over his short bet against Tesla. Last year, Musk had even claimed that such a move could potentially bankrupt the Microsoft founder.
Past disputes
The history of the tech billionaires' feud
The dispute between Musk and Gates goes back to 2022, when Gates reportedly lost $1.5 billion betting against Tesla's stock performance. Musk had previously accused Gates of making a "massive bet" on Tesla's failure at a critical time for the EV maker. He claimed this could hurt retail investors by pushing down the stock price.
Trading strategy
Understanding short selling in stock market
Short selling is a trading strategy where an investor bets on a stock's price decline. They borrow shares they don't own, sell them at the current market price, and wait for the price to drop. If it does fall, they buy back the same number of shares at a lower price and return them to the lender. The difference between selling and buying prices becomes their profit.
Market reaction
Tesla's stock performance
Tesla's stock price fell nearly 2% on Friday. The decline comes after shareholders approved Musk's $1 trillion pay package. However, the share is currently up by 0.59% at $404.35 in after-hours trading, according to NASDAQ data.