In a recent interview with Bloomberg Technology, billionaire philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates was asked about his thoughts on Tesla CEO Elon Musk and former Apple CEO Steve Jobs. Gates, having known both visionaries, offered his insights on the two men, though he also explained why calling Elon Musk the “next Steve Jobs” may not be accurate at all.
Speaking with Bloomberg Technology‘s Erik Schatzker, Gates noted that the fact that Elon Musk and his peers in the EV movement were able to come up with compelling alternatives to internal combustion-powered cars is something truly admirable and a huge contribution to the climate change effort. Gates noted that Elon Musk was able to pull off an electric car that has quality, and though the vehicles are still premium-priced, it has captured the EV market, which is poised to grow.
The Bloomberg host then pivoted to comparisons that have been brought forward about Elon Musk and the late Steve Jobs, a visionary who is responsible for numerous breakthroughs in consumer tech through innovative devices like the iPod and the iPhone. Being familiar with Jobs and Musk, Schatzker asked Gates if comparisons between the two men were appropriate.
“Elon Musk has built a great electric car. He’s designed and built reusable rockets. He’s an innovator in tunneling technology. Bill, you knew Steve Jobs relatively well. Microsoft competed vigorously with Apple, Microsoft, when you were CEO was an investor in Apple. People have described Elon Musk as the new Steve Jobs. Is he the new Steve Jobs?” Schatzker asked.
Gates responded quickly, stating that such comparisons are pretty much gross oversimplifications. The Microsoft co-founder explained that Elon Musk and Steve Jobs are different people, with the former being more of a hands-on engineer and the latter being a genius in design and marketing. While not directly dubbing Musk a “genius” like the former Apple CEO, Gates did hit the nail on the head in his assessment of the Tesla CEO, who is known as a hands-on worker.
“If you know people personally, then that kind of gross oversimplification seems strange. Elon’s more of a hands-on engineer, Steve was a genius at design and picking people and marketing. You wouldn’t walk into the room and confuse them with each other,” Gates remarked.
Despite being ranked among the top billionaires in the world today, Elon Musk is still known for being a builder by heart. And this is shown by his leadership style in all his companies, from Tesla to The Boring Company. Musk has garnered a reputation for being a leader who works in the frontlines, as evidenced by his initiative during the initial Model 3 ramp. When the electric car maker was in the process of building GA4, Tesla community members who visited the Fremont Factory reported seeing Musk torquing bolts with employees building the line. Musk later noted on Twitter that he does not see the big deal behind his physical work, since he loves building things anyway.
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Watch Bill Gates’ interview with Bloomberg Technology in the video below.
Elon Musk shed two new bits of detail on Starship following its 13th test launch, which was an overwhelming success.
SpaceX launched Starship for the 13th time last Friday after two delays: one on Monday when several Raptor engines did not ignite, and another on Thursday due to unfavorable weather conditions in Starbase, Texas.
The launch was overwhelmingly successful. SpaceX was able to complete a necessary test of the heat shield tiles by increasing the acceleration of Starship from launch throughout the flight; 20 Starlink v3 satellites were released with no issue; the Super Heavy Booster landed safely in the Gulf of America, Ship successfully reignited engines while in space; and it also splashed down without incident in the Indian Ocean.
SpaceX Starship just nailed something it’s never done before
Nevertheless, more details are coming out about Starship, and Musk is doing the talking.
Starship Will Be Retrieved in the Ocean
Musk revealed on Tuesday night that Starship would be recovered by a ship in the Indian Ocean. SpaceX routinely tries to recover Starship after splashdown in an effort to find out more about the flight by examining the spacecraft afterward.
We’re sending a ship out to recover Starship https://t.co/fUqUZTITO9
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 28, 2026
This helps engineers find out more about why things might have happened, allows them to examine any potential damage or anomalies that might have occurred, and increases the chances of an even more successful flight next time thanks to the additional information recovered.
Ship Could Have Been Caught by Tower Arms, Musk claims
Musk has already indicated that SpaceX will plan to attempt a catch of Starship with the 14th test flight. While this would be a major accomplishment, it would be an expected next step, considering the fact that the Super Heavy Booster has already been caught by the chopsticks on numerous occasions.
The ship landing was precise, meaning that it would have been caught by the tower arms https://t.co/6nbNrRfX9P
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 29, 2026
A ship catch would be a great indication of where SpaceX stands in terms of reusability and launch cadence. A successful catch with relatively no incidents would be a good sign that SpaceX is nearing a more frequent launch of Starship, but also that the reusability of the massive rocket would be something many would expect in the near future.
It is a necessity to make life multiplanetary.
Elon Musk has updated his timeline for when humans will walk on Mars and for when ships will simply get there.
The objective of getting to Mars has been one of Musk’s biggest goals since becoming a serial entrepreneur and realizing that time on Earth is limited. Musk has said several times he hopes to die on Mars, and not by impact.
Musk now believes that people will be on Mars in “roughly 5 to 7 years.” He said that a Mars lander will get there “a few years sooner.”
People on Mars in roughly 5 to 7 years.
Mars lander a few years sooner.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 29, 2026
The response from Musk comes after NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said that SpaceX’s biggest priority is the Moon and not Mars. Because of this, Isaacman conceded that he believes nuclear power and propulsion investments will provide “potentially the pathway with the fewest miracles required to put four people on Mars in the next 10 to 15 years.”
Of course, this is what NASA can do through taxpayer funding and nuclear investments, he added.
Musk’s grand ambitions are much more optimistic than most, and it is certainly a double-edged sword. This is not the first time timelines for Mars have been somewhat lofty, especially to those normal thinkers like you and me, not super geniuses like Musk.
In fact, the SpaceX and Tesla frontman has said on at least a dozen occasions that we could be on Mars in the coming years. Musk said 2020 would be the big year as early as 2009. In 2020, he was “highly confident” of a landing in 2026, and had even said 2024 in a best-case scenario.
The point is, the range has varied, and it’s anyone’s guess when we’ll get there. This latest adjustment to the timeline is typical of Musk, and while the Moon has seemingly taken priority over Mars, it is still worth mentioning that the ultimate goal is to make life multiplanetary, and it starts potentially with the Red Planet.
SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) got an absolutely crazy price target rating from Raymond James after the company experienced a tough first few weeks following its Initial Public Offering (IPO).
Despite the tumultuous start, SpaceX has plenty of believers, and the company’s massively successful Starship launch last Friday, its 13th test flight of the massive rocket, went so smoothly that Raymond James analysts pushed its price target on the company to roughly 7 times its current trading level.
SpaceX Starship just nailed something it’s never done before
The firm officially put a “Strong Buy” rating and an $800 price target on the stock. It currently trades at around $113. Its all-time high is $225.64, reaching this trading level shortly after shares first went public.
Raymond James’ price target is tied to the firm’s confidence after Starship’s 13th test flight. Analysts at the firm said it was an incremental step that reduces engineering risks, citing the widely successful heat shield test that CEO Elon Musk recently detailed, the smooth deployment of Starlink V3 satellites, and a successful in-space engine relight.
SpaceX also managed to see Starship splash down safely in the Indian Ocean, while the Super Heavy Booster fell down to the Gulf of America with no incidents.
It is interesting to see these launches have such a tremendous impact on the stock and what investors think of it. After SpaceX initially delayed the Starship launch last week, shares fell tremendously. Most probably did not realize that the stand-down is a standard practice, especially if everything is not perfect.
The mission was initially aborted due to an issue with Raptor engines. This was resolved, and Starship launched last Friday after another delay on Thursday, which was caused by weather.
Now that analysts have seen what SpaceX launches are capable of and how impressive the feat is, firms are adjusting their price targets accordingly, making it known that they have high expectations for the space exploration company.
Elon Musk sheds two new bits of detail on Starship after 13th test launch
Elon Musk updates the SpaceX timeline for Mars
