Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, shared his views on Elon Musk’s political aspirations on the global stage, labeling the Tesla and SpaceX executive’s backing of far-right movements overseas as “insane” on two separate occasions.
The tech magnate spent the weekend participating in interviews to promote his forthcoming memoir Source Code: My Beginnings, which is set to be released in February. In a conversation with The Sunday Times, Gates was unusually open about his thoughts on Musk’s recent attempts to sway political matters in the UK and Europe.
“It’s really crazy that he can disrupt the political landscapes in these nations,” Gates stated. “In the U.S., there are restrictions on foreign contributions; perhaps other nations should implement measures to prevent extremely wealthy outsiders from influencing their elections.”
The Microsoft co-founder expressed that he was “not at all” worried about politicizing matters like Musk. Nonetheless, Gates mentioned to acquaintances that he contributed $50 million to Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in October, as reported by The New York Times.
“You wish to back the right wing yet claim Nigel Farage isn’t right wing enough,” Gates remarked to the British publication, referencing Musk’s viewpoints. “I mean, this is just insane nonsense. You are in support of the AfD [Alternative für Deutschland, the German far-right party].”
However, he also provided some cautious commendation for Musk, suggesting that the entrepreneur might be taking on more than he can manage.
“We all have the potential to overreach,” Gates noted to The Sunday Times. “If someone possesses immense intelligence, which he does, they ought to contemplate how they can contribute positively. But this is inciting populism.”
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Sunday, Gates expressed a cautiously positive outlook regarding Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency—the initiative that Trump has assigned to streamline the federal budget—hoping it could help mitigate the national debt.
Gates mentioned that he anticipated Musk’s team would analyze areas such as “pensions, defense, and health care,” but he wished for them to protect initiatives that provide essential medication to AIDS and HIV patients in Africa.
Following his election victory in November, Trump boasted that Gates was set to join various Silicon Valley leaders for a meeting at his Mar-a-Lago resort ahead of his swearing-in. In the interview released on Saturday, the Microsoft co-founder acknowledged having a three-hour “engaging conversation” with the president about several interests of the Gates Foundation, including advancements in HIV treatment and polio eradication.
