Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates discusses his views on Elon Musk's electric carmaker Tesla in an interview with the BBC. AFP
Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates discusses his views on Elon Musk's electric carmaker Tesla in an interview with the BBC. AFP
Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates discusses his views on Elon Musk's electric carmaker Tesla in an interview with the BBC. AFP
Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates discusses his views on Elon Musk's electric carmaker Tesla in an interview with the BBC. AFP

Bill Gates 'admires' Elon Musk but warns Tesla bubble could burst


Neil Murphy
  • English
  • Arabic

Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates says he “admires” Tesla chief executive Elon Musk but is sceptical the carmaker's valuation can continue to climb as the world transitions to electric vehicles.

In an interview with the BBC, Mr Gates downplayed reports of a feud with the Tesla founder amid accusations he was short-selling, or effectively betting against, shares of the Texas-headquartered company.

Mr Musk surpassed Mr Gates to become the richest person in the world this year after Tesla's valuation skyrocketed following the Covid-19 pandemic.

Animosity between the two appeared to grow after Mr Musk accused the Microsoft founder of taking out a large position against his company, something Mr Gates has yet to deny.

Mr Musk has also previously directed insults at Mr Gates on Twitter, the social media platform which he now hopes to buy in a deal worth more than $40 billion.

“There's no need for him to be nice to me,” Mr Gates said, referring to Mr Musk in an interview with Mishal Hussein on BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

However, he declined to say whether he was short-selling Tesla stock. “That has nothing to do with climate change. I have ways of diversifying”, he said when asked directly about the reports.

Tesla's share price stands at just more than $950, making it one of the most highly-valued companies in the world. But Mr Gates said increased competition in the sector could lead to a large fall in its value.

“The popularity of electric cars will lead to more competition for selling those cars. So there's a difference between electric cars being adopted, and companies becoming infinitely valuable.”

Mr Gates, who spends billions fighting climate change, said going into space was not a goal of his and his “dream” was to eradicate polio and malaria.

He also said he was trying to encourage other billionaires to spend more money on humanitarian causes, in an apparent reference to Mr Musk's SpaceX and Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic projects that aim to make space technology more accessible.

“I'm going to encourage others who have been wildly successful like I've been to give back to the right causes — I think philanthropy can achieve a lot,” Mr Gates said.

In the wide-ranging interview, Mr Gates said he found conspiracy theories involving him “crazy” and that some people in the street had accused him of “tracking” them through vaccines.

“In some ways, you almost have to laugh because it's so crazy,” he said. “I mean, do I really want to track people? You know, I spend billions on vaccines, I don't make money on vaccines, vaccines save lives.”

He also said his dealings with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein were a “mistake” and believed he could “absolutely” continue to run the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation with his ex-wife following their divorce last year.

Mr Gates, whose new book How to Prevent The Next Pandemic has just been published, also said the world will be “digging our way out” of the pandemic “for decades to come”.

“It's very unlikely that we'll go 20 more years without another outbreak that has a chance of becoming a global pandemic”, he said.

ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

The fake news generation

288,000 – the number of posts reported as hate speech that were deleted by Facebook globally each month in May and June this year

11% – the number of Americans who said they trusted the news they read on Snapchat as of June 2017, according to Statista. Over a quarter stated that they ‘rarely trusted’ the news they read on social media in general

31% - the number of young people in the US aged between 10 and 18 who said they had shared a news story online in the last six months that they later found out was wrong or inaccurate

63% - percentage of Arab nationals who said they get their news from social media every single day.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
START-UPS%20IN%20BATCH%204%20OF%20SANABIL%20500'S%20ACCELERATOR%20PROGRAMME
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How Voiss turns words to speech

The device has a screen reader or software that monitors what happens on the screen

The screen reader sends the text to the speech synthesiser

This converts to audio whatever it receives from screen reader, so the person can hear what is happening on the screen

A VOISS computer costs between $200 and $250 depending on memory card capacity that ranges from 32GB to 128GB

The speech synthesisers VOISS develops are free

Subsequent computer versions will include improvements such as wireless keyboards

Arabic voice in affordable talking computer to be added next year to English, Portuguese, and Spanish synthesiser

Partnerships planned during Expo 2020 Dubai to add more languages

At least 2.2 billion people globally have a vision impairment or blindness

More than 90 per cent live in developing countries

The Long-term aim of VOISS to reach the technology to people in poor countries with workshops that teach them to build their own device

Honeymoonish
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Aayan%E2%80%99s%20records
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Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters

The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.

 Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.

A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.

The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.

The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.

Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.

Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment

But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.

Gulf Under 19s final

Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B

Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

Champions League Last 16

Red Bull Salzburg (AUT) v Bayern Munich (GER) 

Sporting Lisbon (POR) v Manchester City (ENG) 

Benfica (POR) v Ajax (NED) 

Chelsea (ENG) v Lille (FRA) 

Atletico Madrid (ESP) v Manchester United (ENG) 

Villarreal (ESP) v Juventus (ITA) 

Inter Milan (ITA) v Liverpool (ENG) 

Paris Saint-Germain v Real Madrid (ESP)  

Central%20Bank's%20push%20for%20a%20robust%20financial%20infrastructure
%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3ECBDC%20real-value%20pilot%20held%20with%20three%20partner%20institutions%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EPreparing%20buy%20now%2C%20pay%20later%20regulations%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EPreparing%20for%20the%202023%20launch%20of%20the%20domestic%20card%20initiative%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EPhase%20one%20of%20the%20Financial%20Infrastructure%20Transformation%20(FiT)%20completed%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A
Jewel of the Expo 2020

252 projectors installed on Al Wasl dome

13.6km of steel used in the structure that makes it equal in length to 16 Burj Khalifas

550 tonnes of moulded steel were raised last year to cap the dome

724,000 cubic metres is the space it encloses

Stands taller than the leaning tower of Pisa

Steel trellis dome is one of the largest single structures on site

The size of 16 tennis courts and weighs as much as 500 elephants

Al Wasl means connection in Arabic

World’s largest 360-degree projection surface

ESSENTIALS

The flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.

The hotels

Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.

The tours

A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages. 

Rooney's club record

At Everton Appearances: 77; Goals: 17

At Manchester United Appearances: 559; Goals: 253

MATCH INFO

Azerbaijan 0

Wales 2 (Moore 10', Wilson 34')

MATCH INFO

Inter Milan 1 (Martinez 18' pen)

Juventus 2 (Dybala 4', Higuain 80')

Brief scores:

Scotland 371-5, 50 overs (C MacLeod 140 no, K Coetzer 58, G Munsey 55)

England 365 all out, 48.5 overs (J Bairstow 105, A Hales 52; M Watt 3-55)

Result: Scotland won by six runs

'The worst thing you can eat'

Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.

Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines: 

Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.

Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.

Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.

Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.

Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.

Summer special
Specs

Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request

MATCH INFO

Uefa Nations League

League A, Group 4
Spain v England, 10.45pm (UAE)

BEACH SOCCER WORLD CUP

Group A

Paraguay
Japan
Switzerland
USA

Group B

Uruguay
Mexico
Italy
Tahiti

Group C

Belarus
UAE
Senegal
Russia

Group D

Brazil
Oman
Portugal
Nigeria

What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion

Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)

Report to local authorities

Warn others to prevent further harm

Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

Heavily-sugared soft drinks slip through the tax net

Some popular drinks with high levels of sugar and caffeine have slipped through the fizz drink tax loophole, as they are not carbonated or classed as an energy drink.

Arizona Iced Tea with lemon is one of those beverages, with one 240 millilitre serving offering up 23 grams of sugar - about six teaspoons.

A 680ml can of Arizona Iced Tea costs just Dh6.

Most sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, five teaspoons of sugar in a 500ml bottle.

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Match info

Karnataka Tuskers 110-3

J Charles 35, M Pretorius 1-19, Z Khan 0-16

Deccan Gladiators 111-5 in 8.3 overs

K Pollard 45*, S Zadran 2-18

Updated: May 11, 2022, 5:00 AM`