Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos met for a dinner in 2004.
Tesla chief Elon Musk and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos have been openly arguing for years, but not many are aware that the two once met for a friendly dinner in 2004. A photo of the meeting is currently going viral on social media – and some even Elon has been recorded. Musk’s attention, who responded on Twitter.
While Mr. Musk and Mr. Bezos aren’t rivals in any Earth business – the former made its fortune from electric cars, the latter in e-commerce – the two have similar aerospace ambitions. Jeff Bezos started Blue Origin in 2000, two years before Elon Musk launched Space Exploration Technologies Corporation of SpaceX.
In recent years, Blue Origin and SpaceX have clashed over launch pad leasing options, landing pad patents and more, GeekWire reports. Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk have occasional horns over their rockets and their various space exploration plans.
But in 2004 both companies were still in their infancy. That’s when Mr. Musk and Mr. Bezos had one of their few personal interactions when they met for dinner. Even then, things were hit and miss between the two.
“I really tried my best to give good advice, but he largely ignored it,” Elon Musk said after the meeting, according to Yahoo News.
A photo of the gathering was shared on Twitter earlier this month and caught the attention of Elon Musk on Sunday. “Wow, hard to believe that was 17 years ago!” he wrote while responding to the photo, which shows the two billionaires sitting at a dining table.
Wow, hard to believe that was 17 years ago!
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 21, 2021
The photo has received thousands of likes and comments on the microblogging platform.
“The man in the back has no idea that he has two absolute legends next to him,” wrote one Twitter user.
“While SpaceX vs Blue Origin makes good headlines and interesting comparisons / contrasts, they have different goals and the space is big enough for both. I don’t think they are competitors in the traditional sense,” said another.
Elon Musk briefly overtook Jeff Bezos as the world’s richest person in January, before the Amazon chief reclaimed the title.
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