Bill Gates questioned Elon Musk's priority of sending humans to Mars rather than solving problems on Earth, such as providing vaccines.
In an interview with the BBC, Gates was asked if he thought Musk was a philanthropist. According to the Microsoft founder, at the moment Musk is not a philanthropist but that could change in the future.
"Things like Tesla have a positive impact, even if it's not a form of philanthropy. I think one day he will join the ranks of philanthropists using his ingenuity," Gates said, as quoted by CNBC, Sunday (5/2/2023).
Gates then questioned Musk's dream of establishing a human colony on Mars. SpaceX, Musk's space company, is indeed incessantly building rockets and spacecraft aimed at sending humans to the Red Planet.
According to Gates, going to Mars is not the right way to waste money. He added that his money would be better used to fund vaccine development projects than going to Mars.
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"Going to Mars is actually pretty expensive. You can buy a measles vaccine and save a lot of people's lives for a thousand dollars per life saved," Gates said.
"It can teach you. Don't go to Mars," he added.
In the same interview, Gates also opened up about his name being included in conspiracy theories related to vaccines and COVID-19. The bespectacled man said he was surprised to see that many people thought he was profiting from the pandemic, or even being the one to start it.
"During the pandemic, there were tens of millions of messages saying I caused (the pandemic), or I tracked people. It's true I got involved with vaccines, but I got involved with vaccines to save lives," Gates said.
"These messages turn that around. I think people are looking for the 'ghost' behind the curtain, too simplistic explanation. Maleficent is easier to understand than biology," he concluded.