Bill Gates drives Mahindra EV, Anand Mahindra challenges him to drag race

Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, had a taste of electric vehicles manufactured by Mahindra and Mahindra first hand during his ongoing India tour. The billionaire was seen driving an electric three-wheeler from the manufacturer in a video shared by Gates on social media recently. Video of Gates driving a Mahindra Treo was shared by Anand Mahindra, Group CEO of Mahindra and Mahindra, as well. He urged the billionaire to join him and former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar on a drag race between three-wheelers on his next India trip.

Bill Gates shard the video on his Instagram channel where its appeared with the title ‘Gates Notes’. He appreciated Mahindra's electric three-wheeler as he said, "We're going to need to reinvent the way we do everything from agriculture to transportation to get on the road to a zero-carbon emissions world." He also said that he is amazed by India's passion for inventions. The billionaire added, "I drove an electric rickshaw, capable of traveling up to 131km (about 81 miles) and carrying up to 4 people. It’s inspiring seeing companies like Mahindra contribute to the decarbonization of the transportation industry."

Reacting to Bill Gates' experience on the Mahindra Treo, Anand Mahindra shared the video on Twitter saying “So glad you found the time to check out the Treo." He also added, “Now on your next trip’s agenda should be a 3-wheeler EV drag race between you, Sachin Tendulkar and me."

Mahindra Treo is one of the few electric commercial vehicles manufactured by the company for India, as well as global markets. The electric three-wheeler is priced between ₹2.92 to ₹3.02 lakh (ex-showroom). The Mahindra Treo is capable of churning out 8 kW of power and 42 Nm of peak torque. It offers a range of more than 130 kms on a single charge and claims to recharge within four hours. Mahindra says the Treo electric three-wheeler has a low running cost which is pegged at about 50 paise per km.