Elon Musk not impressed by Bill Gates' take on electrified heavy vehicles

Bill Gates, in a blog, wrote that electrification is not viable and efficient in case of heavy vehicles like 18-wheeler trucks, cargo ships, etc. Elon Musk responded to this by saying that Gates "has no clue".

Key Highlights

• Bill Gates said electric mobility will not be a viable solution for powering heavy vehicles

• Gates instead suggested using biofuels

• Elon Musk was not left impressed by Bill Gates' remarks

Bill Gates and Elon Musk are not close friends and that's something we have known for a while. But it looks like the rivalry between two of the most successful entrepreneurs seems to be getting deeper. Bill Gates, in his recent blog, opined that electric mobility will not be a viable solution for powering heavy vehicles like 18-wheeler trucks, cargo ships, etc. He instead suggested using alternative fuels like biofuel for such vehicles. This was taken by many people as a dig at Tesla's Semi all-electric project, something which the electric automaker is betting on heavily. When asked about Bill Gates' opinion on electrified heavy vehicles, Tesla CEO had a sharp retort. Elon Musk, while responding to a question on Twitter, mentioned that Bill Gates "has no clue". 

Elon Musk's Tweet questioning Bill Gates' knowledge of electric mobility came a few days ahead of Tesla Battery Day event. Tesla, that has revolutionized electric mobility space, is planning to start deliveries of all-electric semi-truck next year. According to the company, Tesla Semi will have a range of up to 804 km on a single charge and will consume less than 2 kWh energy per mile (1.6 km). These specs seem impressive on paper and have played a major role in making Tesla the most valued automaker in the world. However, it looks like Microsoft's founder isn't influenced by Tesla Semi all-electric truck. 

Bill Gates himself has advocated electric mobility as one of the most efficient means to achieve cleaner mobility. He has invested in an EV battery startup -- Quantumscape -- which is currently working on developing solid-state batteries for vehicles. However, looks like he isn't a fan of Tesla vehicles. In his recent blog on electric mobility, Gates mentioned a few electric vehicle makers like Bollinger, Rivian, etc. but made no mention of Tesla. And when purchasing an all-electric car, the entrepreneur chose Porsche Taycan instead of a Tesla EV, further suggesting that not all is well and dandy between Bill Gates and Elon Musk.