Team-BHP > Electric Cars


Reply
  Search this Thread
23,409 views
Old 19th February 2020, 11:04   #1
BHPian
 
bmw_lover's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: New Delhi
Posts: 115
Thanked: 571 Times
Elon Musk calls Bill Gates ‘underwhelming’ after he buys a Porsche Taycan

Elon Musk has called Bill Gates "underwhelming" on his twitter feed after he bought a Porsche Taycan and not a Tesla. The Tesla boss then suggested he had been disappointed in discussions with Bill Gates.

"My conversations with Gates have been underwhelming tbh," he wrote in after a Twitter user alerted him of Mr Bill's purchase.

Bill Gates, a couple of days earlier admitted to having bought the Porsche sports car during a video interview with Youtuber Marques Brown lee, in which both discussed EVs.

Although Mr. Gates in that interview began by lavishing praise on Tesla, saying that "if you had to name one company that’s helped drive [an effort to lower emissions], it’s them". But he said that he had in fact bought a "very, very cool" Porsche Taycan for himself, eschewing Tesla's vehicles. And he also suggested that there remained problems with electric vehicles, such as the high price and the problem of "range anxiety", which leaves drivers concerned their battery might run out with no way of quickly charging them up.

I think Mr. Gates is not helping anyone by making his observations about EVs public as many think of him as a smart guy and they would be more influenced by his comments in not adopting this technology. These comments have the power to dampen the efforts made by Tesla and Elon Musk to popularise EVs.


#Mods, please remove post if not appropriate.

Last edited by ajmat : 19th February 2020 at 19:18. Reason: typo
bmw_lover is offline   (22) Thanks
Old 19th February 2020, 11:13   #2
Distinguished - BHPian
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Delhi
Posts: 8,036
Thanked: 49,761 Times
Re: Elon Musk calls Bill Gates ‘underwhelming’ after he buys a Porsche Taycan

Gates nailed it: A Porsche Taycan is a very, very cool car. A Tesla simply is not! End of discussion.

Jeroen
Jeroen is offline   (71) Thanks
Old 19th February 2020, 11:44   #3
BHPian
 
ds.raikkonen's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2019
Location: NCR
Posts: 488
Thanked: 828 Times
Re: Elon Musk calls Bill Gates ‘underwhelming’ after he buys a Porsche Taycan

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeroen View Post
Gates nailed it: A Porsche Taycan is a very, very cool car. A Tesla simply is not! End of discussion.

Jeroen
Its 'cool' because its a Porsche! Think of all the GT2, GT3, endurance and rally wins the iconic mark has under its belt. Think of how many customer teams have won with their cars, like the legendary story of the 'Whittington Brothers' (check it out on Vinwiki's Youtube channel). The 962, 911 GT1, the LMP1 cars of late, the WRC dominance with the Polo WRC and Sebastien Ogier.
The 'Tesla' brand, though iconic in the EV landscape, is nowhere near the historic significance of the German marque. Also, Porsch'e CEO Mathias Muller took control of the VW group post the diesel gate scandal and is mostly a down to earth guy, not like the brash Elon Musk. That too makes a difference, in my eyes.
ds.raikkonen is offline   (9) Thanks
Old 19th February 2020, 11:53   #4
Distinguished - BHPian
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Delhi
Posts: 8,036
Thanked: 49,761 Times
Re: Elon Musk calls Bill Gates ‘underwhelming’ after he buys a Porsche Taycan

Quote:
Originally Posted by ds.raikkonen View Post
Its 'cool' because its a Porsche! Think of all the GT2, GT3, endurance and rally wins the iconic mark has under its belt. Think of how many customer teams have won with their cars, like the legendary story of the 'Whittington Brothers' (check it out on Vinwiki's Youtube channel). The 962, 911 GT1, the LMP1 cars of late, the WRC dominance with the Polo WRC and Sebastien Ogier.
The 'Tesla' brand, though iconic in the EV landscape, is nowhere near the historic significance of the German marque. Also, Porsch'e CEO Mathias Muller took control of the VW group post the diesel gate scandal and is mostly a down to earth guy, not like the brash Elon Musk. That too makes a difference, in my eyes.
Agree! I am not a real Porsche enthusiast, but there is no denying they have a very impressive heritage and the level of engineering that goes into their cars is phenomenal. I have never really looked at Porsches in the sense of potential owning one. But I do admire them. However, I must admit I really like the new Panamera Sport Turismo.

Whereas some of the Tesla technology is cutting edge (see our other thread on how far ahead they are) the total Tesla package, irrespective of model, if I can call it that, simply does not float my boat.

Jeroen

Last edited by Jeroen : 19th February 2020 at 11:56.
Jeroen is offline   (16) Thanks
Old 19th February 2020, 11:56   #5
BHPian
 
Keeleri_Achu's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2020
Location: Thrissur
Posts: 183
Thanked: 2,012 Times
Re: Elon Musk calls Bill Gates ‘underwhelming’ after he buys a Porsche Taycan

Bill Gates is no stranger to Porsches. I've read that he used to have a 1979 Porsche 911 Turbo and a 959. He even lobbied for the 'Show and Display' law just to get the 959 out of the customs impound. So it is only fitting that his first electric car is a Porsche. While Tesla might still be the king of 'tech' and range, when it comes to true sports car stuff, read Handling, I don't think any current Tesla can hold be a match for the Taycan.
Keeleri_Achu is offline   (10) Thanks
Old 19th February 2020, 12:00   #6
BHPian
 
the_skyliner's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Pune
Posts: 868
Thanked: 1,517 Times
Re: Elon Musk calls Bill Gates ‘underwhelming’ after he buys a Porsche Taycan

So anyone who doesn't buy a Tesla is not wise enough as per Mr. Musk. I think this is nothing but another publicity stunt by Elon Musk.


Congratulations to Mr. Gates on acquiring one of the coolest Porsche from the current line-up.
the_skyliner is offline   (10) Thanks
Old 19th February 2020, 12:25   #7
BHPian
 
Thermodynamics's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Bengaluru
Posts: 832
Thanked: 4,130 Times
Re: Elon Musk calls Bill Gates ‘underwhelming’ after he buys a Porsche Taycan

Quote:
Originally Posted by bmw_lover View Post
I think Mr. gates is not helping anyone by making his observations about EVs public as many think of him as a smart guy and they would be more influenced by his comments in not adopting this technology. These comments have the power to dampen the efforts made by Tesla and Elon Musk to popularise EVs.
I guess we are reading too much between the lines. The very reason we are discussing is because he bought an EV so I don't think his intention was to demotivate adoption of EVs.

I guess it has purely to do with status. Tesla starts at 40 grands and Taycan is a minimum 100 grand. Quite frankly which one do you think would suit him, we are talking about one of the richest people on planet.

Last edited by Gannu_1 : 20th February 2020 at 13:01. Reason: Typo.
Thermodynamics is offline   (5) Thanks
Old 19th February 2020, 13:19   #8
Team-BHP Support
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: All over!
Posts: 7,591
Thanked: 18,197 Times
Re: Elon Musk calls Bill Gates ‘underwhelming’ after he buys a Porsche Taycan

I think this is just trash talk, something Musk loves to indulge in on social media. Such statements by Gates and Musk alike, gather more importance than they should given their stature. Musk had a similar reaction for Zuckerberg regarding AI.

Read it, get entertained and move on.
libranof1987 is offline   (23) Thanks
Old 19th February 2020, 13:50   #9
Team-BHP Support
 
vb-saan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: S'pore/Thrissur
Posts: 7,249
Thanked: 12,317 Times
Re: Elon Musk calls Bill Gates ‘underwhelming’ after he buys a Porsche Taycan

That’s Musk being Musk, venting out on Twitter as usual. Tesla is getting all the laurels for the right reasons and the Model 3 especially is a brilliant car. But it doesn’t have the drama or presence of the Taycan.
vb-saan is offline   (12) Thanks
Old 20th February 2020, 10:09   #10
GTO
Team-BHP Support
 
GTO's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Bombay
Posts: 70,335
Thanked: 298,733 Times
Re: Elon Musk calls Bill Gates ‘underwhelming’ after he buys a Porsche Taycan

Quote:
Originally Posted by bmw_lover View Post
"My conversations with Gates have been underwhelming tbh," he wrote in after a Twitter user alerted him of Mr Bill's purchase.
Although I love Musk & his achievements, he should take lessons on humility, especially when referencing one of the all-time greats like Bill Gates.

He should also respect the competition. The Taycan is a great car. Sure, it's expensive & the range is limited, but it's still a fantastic machine.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeroen View Post
Gates nailed it: A Porsche Taycan is a very, very cool car. A Tesla simply is not! End of discussion.
In the USA at least, Tesla is like the definition of "cool", especially with youngsters and in California.
GTO is offline   (25) Thanks
Old 20th February 2020, 10:20   #11
Team-BHP Support
 
vb-saan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: S'pore/Thrissur
Posts: 7,249
Thanked: 12,317 Times
Re: Elon Musk calls Bill Gates ‘underwhelming’ after he buys a Porsche Taycan

Quote:
Originally Posted by GTO View Post
In the USA at least, Tesla is like the definition of "cool", especially with youngsters and in California.
Yes, especially if it's a two car household (which mostly are), it's a Tesla and a large sedan/SUV. It's cool, green, and fast. The infrastructure and running costs play a big role too.
vb-saan is offline   (8) Thanks
Old 20th February 2020, 10:26   #12
Distinguished - BHPian
 
Kosfactor's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: COK\BLR\MYS
Posts: 3,589
Thanked: 10,110 Times
Re: Elon Musk calls Bill Gates ‘underwhelming’ after he buys a Porsche Taycan

I think looking at EVs as a performance machine makes far more sense than it's overstated environmental benefits, USA is heavily dependent on fossil fuels for electricity generation.

From that aspect a Porsche is simply a better brand, has better knowledge on how to make a car that goes fast, not only in a straight line but around corners as well.
Kosfactor is offline  
Old 20th February 2020, 10:37   #13
Distinguished - BHPian
 
DicKy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: TVPM
Posts: 3,806
Thanked: 11,651 Times
Re: Elon Musk calls Bill Gates ‘underwhelming’ after he buys a Porsche Taycan

So in Muskie boi's words, one shouldn't buy just any EV to save the planet, it should be a Tesla to prove that they are saving the world.

Great.

If I am right, Bill Gates fought tooth and nail and lobbied hard to make some rules that allowed him to import his special edition Porsche, alongwith other owners after USA started clamping down on grey imports.

So it is not a big deal if he went along and bought a Porsche EV.

And he did share some valid points that an ordinary motorist has. Not everyone has the convenience to use EVs or for the matter, make sure that their purchase makes a statement instead of utility.
DicKy is online now   (4) Thanks
Old 20th February 2020, 10:39   #14
BANNED
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: New Delhi
Posts: 297
Thanked: 338 Times
Re: Elon Musk calls Bill Gates ‘underwhelming’ after he buys a Porsche Taycan

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kosfactor View Post
I think looking at EVs as a performance machine makes far more sense than it's overstated environmental benefits, USA is heavily dependent on fossil fuels for electricity generation.
Even then a Tesla is more efficient. The best internal combustion engine is 40% efficient and its a Toyota engine. Also, the cheapest and slowest Tesla does a 0-100 in 5.2 seconds. Keep that in mind when you make efficiency comparisons.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kosfactor View Post
From that aspect a Porsche is simply a better brand, has better knowledge on how to make a car that goes fast, not only in a straight line but around corners as well.
Legacy better. Applying the same logic, Tesla has more electric legacy than anyone else and therefore Tesla is better.

Last edited by vb-saan : 20th February 2020 at 10:43. Reason: Repeated words cleared.
akhilesh is offline   (2) Thanks
Old 20th February 2020, 11:02   #15
BHPian
 
ds.raikkonen's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2019
Location: NCR
Posts: 488
Thanked: 828 Times
Re: Elon Musk calls Bill Gates ‘underwhelming’ after he buys a Porsche Taycan

Quote:
Originally Posted by GTO View Post
Although I love Musk & his achievements, he should take lessons on humility, especially when referencing one of the all-time greats like Bill Gates.

In the USA at least, Tesla is like the definition of "cool", especially with youngsters and in California.
Agree 100%, he should look at the great Christian Von Koenigsegg who has done so much for the automobile industry, just like him, but hasn't bragged about it or made comments on people who didn't buy a Koenigsegg.

The American millennials love Tesla as it has captured their mind share like Audi and Musk's rebel persona. Just like Audi did some time back. They just don't want to drive the cars their parent's used to drive!

Also, being a Lotus fanboy, I wonder whether Geely and Co. will do something about it. On the lines of the upcoming 'Evija', they should definitely try an Elise e-roadster, that would be a 'cool' car! Even the Tesla roadster was inspired from a Lotus Elise.
ds.raikkonen is offline   (1) Thanks
Reply

Most Viewed
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Team-BHP.com
Proudly powered by E2E Networks