The conflict between Bill Gates and Elon Musk that has lasted from September 26, 2017 to the present is not only a personal argument but also reflects the opposition in views on the role of the private sector in solving global problems, from artificial intelligence to medical aid and technology investment.

Reuters reported that the disagreement between Bill Gates and Elon Musk originated in late 2017, when the two sides had opposing views on the risks and opportunities of artificial intelligence (AI).

Since then, the arguments between the world’s richest and fifth-richest billionaires have expanded to many fields.

While Elon Musk has a style of using Twitter-X to attack with humorous memes, Bill Gates chooses traditional channels such as press interviews to provide long-term analysis based on data and field experience.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Microsoft founder focused on vaccines and public health, while the Tesla boss stepped up production of ventilators and criticized the limitations of lockdown measures.

By 2025, Bill Gates publicly accused Musk of “killing the world’s poorest children” by cutting nearly 80% of the USAID budget.

In addition, the two billionaires also fought on social media about short-selling Tesla shares, understanding of electric vehicles, as well as the global policy approach of President Donald Trump’s administration under Musk’s influence.

The media said that the conflict between the two billionaires is expected to show no signs of cooling down as they continue to lead major projects such as AI (Microsoft-backed OpenAI vs. xAI), aerospace (SpaceX) vs. priority improvement of global health, public policy issues (DOGE vs. Gates Foundation).

This confrontation is said to reflect two schools of thought with Elon Musk aiming for bold innovation with risks while Bill Gates is an evidence-based approach and large-scale philanthropy.

7 years 7 months

On September 26, 2017, Bill Gates said that he “does not think AI (artificial intelligence) is an imminent threat to humanity”, implicitly refuting Elon Musk’s warning of destruction, thereby being said to have started a conflict between the two great visions of the era.

With a strong nature, Elon Musk is said to have started having conflicts with Bill Gates since then.

In 2020, the two billionaires clashed over the Covid-19 pandemic.

Billionaire Bill Gates and the Gates Foundation have donated hundreds of millions of dollars to research and deploy a COVID-19 vaccine, while calling for a global commitment to equitable vaccine distribution. He has also stressed the importance of scientific data and international cooperation to end the pandemic.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk has converted Tesla factories to produce ventilators and has repeatedly criticized strict lockdown measures, arguing that many places do not need to close completely, while warning of the economic and social consequences.

The reason is understandable, as the lockdown has affected many Tesla factories and caused electric vehicle sales to plummet.

In March 2020, he tweeted that “the coronavirus panic is stupid” and predicted that the number of new infections in the US would be “close to zero by the end of April”. He reopened the Tesla factory in Fremont, California, in May 2020, despite local restrictions, and said he was willing to be arrested if necessary.

In a July 2020 interview with CNBC, Bill Gates called Musk’s comments on the Covid-19 pandemic “outrageous” and suggested that Musk “stick to electric cars and rockets” instead of meddling in areas where he has no expertise.

The Microsoft founder even expressed concern that Elon Musk’s statements could confuse the public about the severity of the pandemic and undermine efforts to control the virus.

In response, the Tesla boss mocked Bill Gates on Twitter-X by posting a meme with the words “Billy G is not my lover”, referring to the song “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson, as a way to ironically criticize the Microsoft founder’s criticism.

In addition, Elon Musk also emphasized that Tesla has manufactured machinery to support vaccine production for CureVac, a company in which the Gates Foundation has invested, to prove that he is not completely ignorant in the medical field.

By September 2020, the dispute between the two billionaires continued as Elon Musk criticized Bill Gates for “not understanding” electric trucks after the Microsoft founder posted a blog post on August 24, 2020, expressing skepticism about the feasibility of electric trucks in long-haul transportation.

“They will probably never be a practical solution for vehicles like 18-wheelers, cargo ships, and passenger planes,” Bill Gates argued, arguing that batteries are too heavy and bulky to effectively power heavy-duty vehicles.

On the contrary, the Tesla boss sarcastically criticized Bill Gates for boasting about buying a Porsche Taycan but making negative comments about the electric vehicle industry.

Conflicting visions

The visions of the world’s two leading billionaires continued to collide on February 12, 2021 when Elon Musk accused Bill Gates of short-selling Tesla shares, claiming that it was evidence that the Microsoft founder did not believe in the future of electric vehicles. The Tesla boss even called Bill Gates “stupid” and “didn’t know what he was talking about”.

However, Bill Gates denied this information and said that it was individual investors who often shorted Tesla, not him.

By 2023, the explosion of AI caused the old conflict in 2017 to erupt.

In March 2023, Elon Musk and more than 1,000 technology experts signed the “Open Letter to Temporarily Halt Large-Scale AI Experiments”, calling for a six-month moratorium on the development of systems more powerful than GPT-4, citing concerns about the survival risks to humanity.

However, once again, Bill Gates, despite acknowledging that AI could pose potential risks, refused to sign the letter, arguing that asking a group to stop could not solve the challenge but needed to focus on how to use and manage technology.

Shortly after, the world’s richest billionaire posted on Twitter-X commenting that Bill Gates was “ignorant” about AI. In response, the Microsoft founder still said that he was not worried about a “robot uprising” in the near future.

Most recently in May 2025, Elon Musk, as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), cut about 80% of the budget of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), targeting health programs in Africa and Asia.

Later, in interviews with Reuters and the Financial Times, Bill Gates denounced this action as “killing the world’s poorest children” due to the lack of vaccines and treatment drugs.

At the same time, the Microsoft founder also called Elon Musk “ignorant of geography” when he confused charity programs. Billionaire Bill Gates also warned of the consequences of increased child deaths from HIV, measles and polio due to Elon Musk’s ignorance.

Not willing to sit still, the Tesla boss immediately responded on Twitter-X, calling Bill Gates a “great liar” and questioning his philanthropic approach over the years.

Clearly, the conflict between Bill Gates and Elon Musk is not just a war of words between two outstanding individuals but a manifestation of two different visions about technology, philanthropy and the role of private enterprise in global policy.