Bill Gates earned the displeasure of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) chief executive officer Elon Musk by taking a short position against the EV maker.

Gates responded by saying. Tesla isn't short of capital, and the company has done a "fantastic job." He also said the company's cars are great.

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The Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) founder noted that he gives a lot more money to efforts addressing climate change than Musk or anyone else for that matter.

Gates pointed out that cars account for only 16% of emissions, and the other 84% also needs to be solved. Although he acknowledged that Musk has "done a great job." 

"Somebody shorting his stock doesn't slow him down or hurt him in any way," Gates added.

As recently as late last month, Musk in a Twitter chat with his followers said Gates' Tesla short bet may have ballooned, and the latter would need about $1.5 billion to $2 billion to cover the short position.

Tesla closed Friday's session down 9.22% at $703.55, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo: Courtesy of Greg Rubenstein and TED Conference on Flickr