That's all Ford CEO Jim Farley used to respond to Tesla CEO
Elon Musk on Friday.
"Tesla & Ford are the only American carmakers not
to have gone bankrupt out of 1000’s of car startups. Prototypes are easy,
production is hard & being cash flow positive is excruciating," Musk
tweeted Thursday.
Farley retweeted Musk early Friday saying only,
"Respect."
Reaction on Twitter has been swift with likes, retweets and
spicy comments.
Musk, of course, is quietly acknowledging the bankruptcies
of General Motors and Chrysler, now part of Stellantis. Staying afloat during
the Great Recession a decade ago has long been a point of pride for Ford.
Elon Musk has 48.5 million followers on Twitter.
Jim Farley, who assumed the helm as CEO on Oct. 1, has
27,200 now.
Respect.... https://t.co/jJDsCvf0AY
— Jim Farley (@jimfarley98) March 5, 2021
Farley succeeds CEO Jim Hackett, who had retired from
Steelcase office furniture and had no presence on Twitter during his three-year
tenure.
"The tweet today demonstrates 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 launches rockets into space. Farley, 58, is a race car-driving
son of the auto industry whose grandfather worked in a Ford factory.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk next to a Model X electric sport utility vehicle during a presentation in California in 2015. Liu Yilin/ Xinhua/ TNS |
Tesla, founded in 2003, has dominated the electric vehicle
market with its Model S, Model 3, Model X and Model Y. Enthusiasts refer to the
product line as SEXY. In 2020, Tesla delivered 499,550 vehicles.
In February, Ford sold 3,739 Mach-E SUVs in its first full
month of sales, and that generated attention from Wall Street. Ford has sold
3,977 Mach-Es in 2021, according to its sales reports.
'Ouch'
Jonas released his analysis to Morgan Stanley investors on
Tuesday and to the media on Wednesday, saying, "Mustang Mach-E Steals
Major Tesla Sales" and "Tesla's share of the BEV (battery electric
vehicle) market declined significantly to 69% vs. 81% in the prior year. The
Ford Mustang Mach-E accounted for nearly 100% of the share loss."
Michelle Krebs, executive analyst for Autotrader.com, said
the tweet from Musk illustrates Ford is top of mind. Shopping data illustrates
that Ford is cutting into Tesla profits immediately, she said.
"The Mustang Mach-E is capturing the interest of Tesla
shoppers," Krebs said. "We need to acknowledge Tesla is going to lose
market share. It had 100% and it can't stay at 100% as competitors come onto
the market. In February, Ford was its biggest competitor."
"If you look at sales numbers for Ford, if they continue at that pace, they would be the bestselling non-Tesla electric vehicle this quarter," she said. "Chevy Bolt has always been that. We're waiting for those sales numbers."
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