Bill Gates says he is not a 'Mars person', praises Elon Musk for making electric cars

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates recently said during an interview that he is not a "Mars person" and would rather invest his money on something that poses greater challenges to humanity. Speaking to New York Times opinion writer Kara Swisher, Gates said he is not a person who would invest his money for travelling to space when he can buy vaccines to save life on Earth. Gates' comment is in contrast to the views of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who has, on several occasions, expressed his desire to colonize Mars. 

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"No, I'm not a Mars person. I know a lot of Mars people. I'm not going to pay a lot of money because my foundation can buy measles vaccines and save a life for $1,000. So anything I do, I always think, OK, I could spend that $1,000 buying measles vaccine," Gates said during the interview. 

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'Underestimating Musk is not a good idea'

Gates, however, praised Musk for his contributions towards the fight against climate change by making electric passenger cars. Gates said "underestimating Elon Musk is not a good idea", adding he has made important contributions with Tesla in the fight against climate change. Gates further added that while Tesla was doing some important stuff, it is not sufficient to tackle climate change, which would require focus from other industries as well. 

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Earlier this month, Elon Musk, while appearing on Joe Rogan's podcast, had said that Gates didn't know what he was talking about when the latter said electric vehicles are not good enough to carry heavier loads for long distances. Last year, Musk had hit out at Bill Gates when he chose to buy Porsche electric Taycan over Tesla.  "My conversations with Gates have been underwhelming tbh," Musk had tweeted.

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