The texts that show Musk turned down a philanthropic opportunity with Bill Gates are legitimate, he said on Friday.
The Whole Mars Catalog account tagged Musk and asked if the texts were real, after they shared Screenshots of the texts.
The color of the text message boxes suggests they were taken on Musk's phone.
A text from Gates confirms a day and time to meet, to which Musk responds, "great."
Musk sent a follow up text, asking if he still had a half billion dollar short position against the company.
Gates replied that he hadn't closed it out, but that he would like to discuss philanthropy possibilities.
Musk said he couldn't take your philanthropy on climate change seriously because he had a huge short position against the company.
—Whole Mars Catalog (@WholeMarsBlog) April 22, 2022
—Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 23, 2022
A short position is when an investor sells a stock they borrowed with the goal of buying it back later at a lower price.
Musk said that they were real but that he did not leak them, adding that they must have gotten out through friends.
Musk said that he asked Gates if he still had half billion short against the company.
It was unclear when the text exchange took place, but Musk said on Joe Rogan's show that he heard Gates was betting against the stock market.
In case Gates needs to lose a boner fast, Musk compared the Microsoft founder to the pregnant man in a meme he created.
—Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 23, 2022
Musk and Gates, two of the world's richest people, have openly feuded in the past, disagreeing over topics like electric vehicles, COVID-19, and colonizing Mars.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation did not respond to Insider's requests for comment.
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