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Bill Gates wants to “wait and see” how Elon Musk handles Twitter.
The Microsoft co-founder – who doesn't see eye to eye with the Tesla chief – has reflected on the news he has had a bid to buy the social media platform accepted by the board.
Asked what he thinks of the deal, he told the BBC: “You know, Elon, I guess it's possible Twitter could be worse. But it also could be better… So I have a wait and see attitude.”
Last week, Musk accused Gates of “shorting” Telsa stock – which is a way of making money through betting that a firm with lose value – and argued it undermines Gates' environmental charity work.
However, asked whether or not he had bet against Tesla, the 66-year-old businessman fired back: “That has nothing to do with climate change. I have ways of diversifying.
“The popularity of electric cars will lead to more competition for selling those cars.
“So there's a difference between electric cars being adopted, and companies becoming infinitely valuable.”
Earlier this week, multi-billionaire Musk – who has bought Twitter for a whopping $44 billion (£33.3 billion) – insisted he wants to make the platform a better place.
Regarding his goals of making the site a platform for free speech, he said: “[It] would be to make Twitter as inclusive as possible, and to have as broad a swath of the country and the rest of the world on Twitter, and that they find it interesting and entertaining and funny, and that it makes their life better.”
