Elon Musk says Bill Gates has 'multi-billion dollar' Tesla short position

Bill Gates has a short position against Tesla Inc. that would now need between $1.5 billion and $2 billion to close out, Elon Musk said Friday in a series of tweets.

Musk said the position was $500 million and grew after Tesla “went up a lot.”

When asked last year on CNBC whether he was short Tesla, Gates said, “I don’t talk about my investments.”

Musk was replying to tweets after the close of his Twitter poll asking who respondents trust less -- politicians or billionaires. More than 75% said they had less trust in politicians.