Elon Musk has slammed Bill Gates after a report claimed that the Microsoft co-founder had "poured millions" into attacking Musk's $44 billion acquisition of Twitter.
Breitbart News, a far-right publication, stated that Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation sent hundreds of millions of dollars to 11 of the 26 organisations that "signed an open letter last month urging Twitter advertisers to boycott the company if Elon Musk restores free speech on the platform".
Citing research and analysis from the Foundation for Freedom Online (FFO), the report analysed public filings to trace hundreds of millions of dollars in contributions from the letter signatories back to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
"In total, 11 of the 26 anti-Musk organisations received funding from a Gates-backed entity," the report claimed.
Reacting to the report, Elon Musk tweeted, "What a d*** move!"
Responding to a follower, Elon Musk added, "You think that's bad, wait until you find out what he put in your vaccine."
Bill Gates, an avid advocate of vaccination, has been battling conspiracy theories -- including one claiming that the vaccines have microchips -- which has been dissuading people from taking the shots.
Earlier, Gates had also expressed apprehension regarding Musk's takeover of Twitter, saying he could potentially make the micro-blogging site a "worse" platform.
This month, about 26 organisations and NGOs sent a signed a letter to Twitter advertisers requesting them to boycott the platform if Musk makes content moderation changes. It was later revealed that some of these groups are funded or tied to billionaire philanthropist George Soros, former US presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, Daily Mail had reported.
"Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter will further toxify our information ecosystem and be a direct threat to public safety, especially among those already most vulnerable and marginalised," letter stated.
"Under Musk's management, Twitter risks becoming a cesspool of misinformation, with your brand attached, polluting our information ecosystem in a time where trust in institutions and news media is already at an all-time low."
The Tesla CEO, on the other hand, is a free speech absolutist and had earlier accused Gates of shorting Tesla's stock.
Gates, however, had replied that Musk's tweets "doesn't bother me".
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