Elon Musk is one of the most popular global figures of all time. With a net worth of $437 billion, up $6 billion since last month, he is currently the wealthiest man in the world. Known for his remarkable intellect, passion for tech and an unmatched ambition to create and live an out-of-the-box life, his brain is a gift to humanity, for there’s genuinely no one like him. Quite unconventional and absolutely brilliant.
Other influential tech leaders who have also made revolutionary changes in the field of technology and innovation and gained eminence, success, fame, wealth and respect include names like Bill Gates, whose net worth is approximately $128 billion. He’s the co-founder of Microsoft, which became an invention that changed an entire generation.
While both billionaires went on to inspire and change the world in different ways, they struggled to co-exist in the world as two brilliant-minded individuals, as their ideas turned into competition fueled by comparison that began with who has more money and ended with who’s the next revolutionary leader of the century.
View this post on Instagram
The competition between the tech giants soon turned into a show that shows no signs of cooling off. What began as a difference of opinion has evolved into one of Silicon Valley’s most high-profile billionaire feuds, one fueled by pride, science, and a fair share of public shade. During a September 2025 appearance on the All-In Podcast, Musk confirmed that his differences with Gates remain unresolved.
According to Musk, Bill Gates questioned Tesla’s electric semi-trucks. During a visit to Tesla’s Gigafactory in Austin, Gates reportedly told Musk he doubted that long-range electric trucks could ever work in practice.
The exchange clearly didn’t sit well with Musk, who later dismissed Gates’ scientific understanding altogether. “You’d think he’d be really strong in the sciences,” Musk said on the podcast. “But in my direct conversations with him, he’s not strong in the sciences.”
This wasn’t the first time the two billionaires clashed. Back in April 2022, Elon Musk revealed that he canceled a planned meeting with Gates to discuss climate change philanthropy after discovering that Gates had taken a $500 million short position against Tesla stock. Meanwhile, Tesla’s net income in Q3 2025 was 29% lower than in Q3 2024 — $1.8 billion vs. $2.2 billion.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates ripped his fellow billionaire Elon Musk’s international political ambitions—twice calling the Tesla and SpaceX owner’s support for far-right movements abroad “insane.”https://t.co/5kHJofbCRo
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) January 26, 2025
As of March 2025, Tesla had suffered huge losses across the global market and the EV company had been targeted by vandalism and protests since the tech billionaire began heading the DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency), which was another controversial department.
DOGE’s goal was to reduce federal spending by slashing jobs and canceling leases. At one point, over 800 lease cancellation notices were sent out, many without notifying the federal workers.
Meanwhile, in February 2025, a showroom in Oregon was shot at with an AR-15-style rifle. The suspected vandal has been identified as 41-year-old Adam Matthew Lansky, who was accused of causing trouble in the same store in January 2025.
View this post on Instagram
At the time, Trump and Musk’s friendship was strong, and Trump showed his support for Tesla by purchasing a swanky red model, which has a starting price of $76,880.
He said that his White House staff would use the car and called vandalizing Tesla stations “domestic terrorism.” He plans on imposing harsh penalties on anyone involved with such activities. Eventually, Elon Musk and Trump reportedly fell out over political differences. After that, Musk stepped down as DOGE’s advisor and launched his own political party
