Just one word.
That’s all Ford CEO Jim Farley reacted earlier to Tesla CEO Eles Musk.
“Tesla and Ford are the only U.S. automakers that have not gone bankrupt out of the thousands of cars that have been running. Prototypes are easy, production is difficult and cash flow is positively upsetting,” Musk tweeted Thursday.
Farley tweeted Musk again early Friday, saying, “Respect.”
The response on Twitter was quick with likes, retweets and spicy comments.
Musk, of course, quietly acknowledges the bankruptcies of General Motors and Chrysler, now part of Stellantis. Keeping your head above water during the Great Recession a decade ago has long been a source of pride for Ford.
Elon Musk has 48.5 million followers on Twitter.
Jim Farley, who took over as CEO on October 1, now has 27,200.
Farley succeeds CEO Jim Hackett, who retired from Steelcase office furniture and was not on Twitter during his three-year term.
“The tweet today shows that business can be competitive and respectful,” said Melissa Bradley, a business professor at Georgetown University.
Musk (49) is a self-made billionaire who grew up in South Africa and now sends rockets into space. Farley, 58, is a race car boy from the automotive industry whose grandfather worked in a Ford factory.
The two drivers were in the spotlight this week when the all-electric Ford Mustang Mach-E began stealing customers from the dominant electric carmaker in 2021, as characterized by analyst Adam Jonas at Morgan Stanley.
Founded in 2003, Tesla has dominated the electric vehicle market with its Model S, Model 3, Model X and Model Y. Enthusiasts refer to the product range as SEXY. In 2020, Tesla delivered 499,550 vehicles.
In February, Ford sold 3,739 Mach-E sports utility vehicles in its first full month of sales, and that caught Wall Street’s attention. According to its sales reports, Ford sold 3,977 Mach-Es in 2021.
‘Ouch’
Jonas on Tuesday released his analysis to Morgan Stanley investors and the media on Wednesday, saying “Mustang Mach-E steals big Tesla sales” and “Tesla’s share of the BEV (battery electric vehicle) market dropped significantly to 69 ‘compared to 81 in the previous year. The Ford Mustang Mach-E accounted for almost 100% of the share loss.’
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Michelle Krebs, executive analyst at Autotrader.com, said Musk’s tweet illustrates that Ford thinks best. Shopping data illustrates that Ford immediately saves with Tesla profits, she said.
“The Mustang Mach-E is capturing the interest of Tesla buyers,” Krebs said. “We have to admit that Tesla is going to lose market share. It has had 100% and it cannot stay at 100% when competitors come on the market. In February, Ford was its biggest competitor.”
“If you look at Ford’s sales figures, this will be the best-selling non-Tesla electric vehicle this quarter,” she said. ‘Chevy Bolt has always been that way. We are waiting for the sales figures. ‘
Contact Phoebe Wall Howard: 313-222-6512 or [email protected].
This article originally appeared in Detroit Free Press: Elon Musk tweets about Ford and Tesla, then Jim Farley replies