Bill Gates buys Porsche Taycan, his first electric car

Bill Gates (Image: Reuters)

American tech giant Bill Gates recently confirmed that he had purchased his first-ever electric car. Speaking to Marques Brownlee in a YouTube interview, the co-founder and former CEO of Microsoft revealed that he has purchased a Porsche Taycan.

The Taycan is Porsche’s first fully-electric car and is offered in two variants. That includes the Turbo and the Turbo S and both share a 93.4kWh lithium-ion battery. The Turbo is a range-oriented version, offering 381 to 450km on a full charge. The Turbo S is a sportier variant and offers less range in exchange for more performance.

Porsche has equipped the Taycan with a pair of synchronous motors; one on each axle. The Turbo makes 670PS of maximum power while the Turbo S makes 751PS. Both cars have an equal torque of 850Nm.

This gives the Turbo S a 0-100kmph time of 2.6 seconds, while the Turbo variant takes 0.4 seconds more. The battery pack can be charged using an 800V connection and supports fast charging, which can take the battery from 5 percent to 80 percent in close to 20 minutes.

Gates, in the video, also explained the transition away from fossil fuel. He said it was not enough to target passenger cars. It is also important to target industrial and agricultural vehicles as well, he added.