Bill Gates and Neal Stephenson drive into the future in a Tesla in VR

The ultimate tech meets sci-fi mashup includes a Tesla, VR and two futurist icons.
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Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Science fiction meets technology in the very best way in this short three-minute video posted by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates earlier this week.

In the video, Gates takes off his tech icon hat and becomes a fan as he meets up with famed science fiction author Neal Stephenson to talk about the latter's latest novel Seveneves.


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As we mentioned earlier this week, the book is on Gates' summer reading list this year. On his website, Gates gives a brief review of the book, writing, "Seveneves reminded me of all the things I love about science fiction. It is a great novel to get lost in, learn from, and think about. More than anything else, it has me thinking I should get back to reading sci-fi again."

Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

But the coolest part of the meeting of Gates and Stephenson is the exceedingly tech-infused context in which it occurs. 

The two men, who both live in Seattle, hop in a Tesla (possibly the most futurist car you can buy right now) and the entire in-car conversation is captured using a 360-degree camera, which means you can view the conversation using a virtual reality headset.

It's not as long as or as in-depth as Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee, but it's easily the best sci-fi-tech meeting of the minds we've seen in a long time. 

This should definitely become a regular VR show. Please get on that, Bill. 

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