Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, had recently taken a "not so subtle" jab from Ford CEO Jim Farley when he called out the billionaire over the Michigan-based company's market-leading position in electric pickup trucks, as reported first by Electrek.
Tesla and Ford are two of the most popular and well-received companies in the automaking industry, so it is only natural that these two are in heated competition, especially with the EV race raging on.
EV Truck Race
Tesla has particularly established a tremendous lead in the field of electric vehicles, and according to Electrek, it is rather "frequent" that competitors call out Elon Musk.
However, it is worth noting that Ford's Chief Jim Farley has previously spoken highly of Tesla. In an internal meeting last year, he lauded Tesla and declared that "no one does electric better."
Now, he is more confident than ever to claim that Ford is also faring well in the EV race, especially with its production of electric trucks.
In fact, it has proven to be "lightning quick" with its operations after delivering its popular all-electric F-150 Lightning truck to customers in all 50 states, including Hawaii and Alaska,
Farley made the call out at a press conference to announce Ford and DTE Energy's agreement, which marks the biggest renewable energy purchase in US history.
"We're really on a mission at Ford to lead an electric and digital revolution for many, not few, And I have to say the shining light for us at Ford is this beautiful Lightning made right down the road in Dearborn, right here in the state of Michigan, already the leader of all EV pickup trucks in our industry in the United States. Take that, Elon Musk."
But as usual, Elon Musk responded to the call out with a tweet, saying, "Thanks, but I already have one," which appears to be a reference to Tesla's long-awaited Cybertruck.
Electrek noted that Rivian was actually the first to introduce an electric truck in the market with its R1T, but Ford swiftly caught up to the startup by utilizing its advanced production capabilities, even though it only began producing around six months later.
The Cybertruck was initially introduced by Tesla in 2019 with the promise that it would roll into production in 2020, making Tesla the first company to commercialize an electric pickup truck.
Elon Musk also said in a tweet on Wednesday, Aug 10, that Cybertruck is still another year away before it rolls its debut, while the 500-mile range Semi truck will finally start shipping this year.
Related Article : Ford Delivers First F-150 Lightning to a Michigan - Edges Rivals in the EV Truck Race
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla