Tech billionaires Bill Gates and Elon Musk, who have never seen eye to eye, are once again in the spotlight, after the latter seemingly reignited their long-standing feud with a mic drop X post.
Recently, Musk reacted to a social media post about Gates, where a user linked Tesla short sellers to those lacking ethics and morality. Taking to the comments of that particular post, the Tesla CEO simply wrote, “Karma is real.”
Karma is real
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 25, 2026
The overall social media quoting began after The New York Times reported that Gates had openly apologized to the staff at the Gates Foundation over his past ties with convicted s– offender Jeffrey Epstein. It also revealed that Gates has admitted to having affairs with two Russian women.
Meanwhile, according to another report by The Wall Street Journal, Bill Gates told his foundation staff that he had relationships with a Russian bridge player he met at bridge events. And as for the other woman, Gates recalled meeting the Russian nuclear scientist through business activities.
This explosive confession comes after the DOJ released the latest batch of Epstein files. Therein, emails from Epstein revealed how Gates had come to him to allegedly facilitate trysts with married women and to get medication to treat an STI from intimate relations “with Russian girls.”
✳️Epstein Files✳️ Bill Gates is alleged to have requested STI meds from Jeffrey Epstein to give to Melinda Gates!!!#BillGates #EpsteinFiles #EpsteinTrumpCoverUp #EpsteinTrumpPedoFiles #Epstein pic.twitter.com/OonFRXnm3e
— Ryan (@RealRyanPK) January 30, 2026
Now, Elon Musk’s response clearly comes as a dig at the Microsoft co-founder. Although Musk did not explain his comment, it’s quite evident that the 54-year-old openly mocked Gates, which further reignited their feud.
The rivalry between the two tech leaders goes back several years, which began after Gates decided to bet against Tesla’s stock. According to Musk’s memoir, it began in early 2022 after Gates wanted to “come see (him) and talk about philanthropy and climate” at a meeting.
After the meeting happened at Musk’s Texas plant, the Tesla CEO confronted Bill Gates over his decision to short Tesla stock. According to the bet, Gates would make money if Tesla’s stock price fell. And as per reports, Gates took a short position worth about $500 million against Tesla.
Bill Gates placed a massive short bet against Tesla of ~1% of our total shares, which might have cost him over $10B by now
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 17, 2025
This left Musk visibly upset with Gates’ bet, as he believes Tesla is helping fight climate change by promoting electric vehicles. During the meeting, he told Gates that “I cannot take your philanthropy on climate change seriously when you have a massive short position against Tesla”.
Bill Gates later confessed that Musk was “super mean” to him during that meeting, although he didn’t take things personally, as the 54-year-old is “super mean to so many people.” Later on, in 2023, instead of moving on, Musk once again spoke publicly about Gates’ alleged short position.
Meanwhile, according to author Walter Isaacson, who wrote Musk’s memoir, Gates’ short bet may have had a major impact on Tesla stock. He believes the bet might have led to losses of around $1.5 billion when Tesla’s stock was trading at $400 per share.
If Tesla does become the world’s most valuable company by far, that short position will bankrupt even Bill Gates
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 10, 2024
Later on, in September 2024, instead of letting it go, Elon Musk once again showcased his grudge against Gates. Taking to X, the SpaceX CEO made another bold statement suggesting, “If Tesla does become the world’s most valuable company by far, that short position will bankrupt even Bill Gates”.
So far, Gates has not responded to Musk’s Karma tweet, but given how both men are known to speak their minds, this high-profile rivalry does not seem to be ending anytime soon.
