Tesla may be the poster child of electric vehicles, but Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates recently revealed in an interview on the audio chat app Clubhouse that he doesn't drive one, instead putting his green credentials behind the wheel of something else. Much of the interview was given over to discussing Gates' new book How To Avoid A Climate Disaster and he talked at length about various technologies that could contribute to tackling climate change. It's this that brought up the topic of Tesla.
As Gates has pared back his involvement with Microsoft over the course of 15 years, he has focused increasingly on a variety of causes, of which climate change is one. His book on the topic, which was released last month, outlines a "plan for how the world can get to zero greenhouse gas emissions in time to avoid a climate catastrophe." It was within this context that the Clubhouse interview with journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin took place.
While explaining that a far greater effort was needed to reduce emissions in industrial areas like cement and steel use, Gates noted that a far greater but less impactful focus had been placed on near-term reductions like wind power, solar power, and electric cars, although he said these would ultimately be needed too. Picking up on Gates' reference of electric cars and that he drove one, Sorkin asked what it was, to which he replied: "It's not an everyman's car - it's called a Porsche Taycan Turbo."
Bill Gates On Porsche & Tesla
Having characterized the Taycan as "fun," Gates explained that the reason he went for it was a personal like for Porsche because his first car had been one and because they "make a certain noise," something many car fans will empathize with. Gates went on to explain that he was by no means against Tesla. "Tesla's a fantastic car," he said. "I've bought Teslas for relatives … The company that has done the most for electric cars and has done a brilliant job is Tesla."
Pressed by Sorkin on how easy it would be for other carmakers to catch up with Tesla, Gates gave no timeframe but indicated that he didn't think it would be a one-company show indefinitely. "I don't think there'll only be one electric car company," he said. "I was very impressed that GM said that by 2035 they're going to stop making gasoline cars. The amount of creativity by all the car companies going into this — partly because Tesla has shown that the market is there — is phenomenal."
Perhaps most interestingly, though, he said he thought the industry would ultimately produce zero emissions. "That category — what I call green premium — will go to zero because the costs will come down, there'll be more charging stations, there'll be quick charging."
Source: Brian Penny/YouTube