The billionaire philanthropist revealed his purchase in an interview with popular YouTuber Marques Brownlee. The YouTuber asked Gates about efforts to address climate change with clean energy products like electric cars, bringing up Tesla as an example. Gates said that while electric vehicles were still far behind gasoline cars when it comes to range, he noted that passenger cars are “one of the most hopeful” sectors when it comes to making necessary changes.
“And certainly Tesla, if you had to name one company that’s helped drive that, it’s them,” Gates said, immediately adding that he just got a Porsche Taycan.
“I have to say, it’s a premium-price car but it is very, very cool,” Gates added. “That’s my first electric car and I’m enjoying it a lot.”
Asked on Twitter why the Microsoft co-founder “decided to go with the Taycan instead of a Tesla,” Musk responded with “my conversations with Gates have been underwhelming tbh [to be honest].”
My conversations with Gates have been underwhelming tbh
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 18, 2020
Porsche’s EV Taycan Turbo retails at $150,900 in the US, which is less than Tesla’s premium-class Model S, which costs $185,000. However, its entry-level Model 3 comes at a much lower standard price of $39,490, comparable to the prices of gasoline cars on the market.
