I'll preface this by saying that I'm not nearly as bullish on EVs as is popular these days. Gates is definitely right that batteries are heavy--I think a model S weighs as much or more than a full size pickup. However, he is making a mistake by thinking that all the power needs to be on board at the start of the trip. It's not as if an 18-wheeler carries all the diesel it needs to go from LA to Chicago without stopping. They fuel up. And that's easy with diesel, because distribution is widespread and delivery is easy with a pump. Batteries obviously can't be charged quickly even with a "super charger" or whatever. But I think that there are probably ways around that (e.g. modular batteries, super high voltage chargers, etc). However, each of those solutions, while probably technically feasible, will require a lot of infrastructure to realize. And if the industry is smart, they will work together to try to make scalable solutions that work across platforms. There's no such thing as a Toyota gas station or a Volvo diesel station, and we wouldn't tolerate it if there was. So I think Gates is correct in the short term, but he could be wrong were the technology to advance to a point where it's no more burdensome to use electric than diesel or gas.