As we draw closer and closer to the first deliveries of Tesla’s Cybertruck, a rival company like Ford is ensuring it stays on top of the competition. Ford’s chief executive officer Jim Farley recently sat down in an interview with CNBC’s Jim Cramer, stating no-holds-barred statements against the Cybertruck. Here’s the news.
Not a real work truck
Farley told CNBC he is not worried that this new venture from Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, will drain Ford of their customers, saying that while America “loves an underdog,” when it comes to electric vehicle (EV) trucks and vans, Ford still knows the customers “better than anyone.”
“The reality is, America loves an underdog — and we are the market leader for EV trucks and vans, and we know those customers better than anyone,” Ford’s CEO said. “And if he wants to design a Cybertruck for Silicon Valley people, fine. It’s like a cool high-end product parked in front of a hotel,” Farley continued. “But I don’t make trucks like that. I make trucks for real people who do real work, and that’s a different kind of truck.”
Tesla describes its upcoming Cybertruck as having “better utility than a truck with more performance than a sports car.”
Musk stated that the Cybertruck will be available later this year, with deliveries planned to start by the third quarter of 2023.
Tesla, Ford
These fierce comments from Ford’s CEO came amidst his company’s competition with Tesla in producing EV trucks and Ford being the first automotive company to partner with the latter on its Supercharger network.
Ford is one of the few automakers also to produce an EV pickup truck that is comparable to Tesla’s Cybertruck. In 2022, Ford said it was able to deliver more than 13,000 electric F-150 trucks and fulfill about 200,000 reservations.
Moreover, interestingly, Ford is also the first automotive company to ink a deal with Tesla so it can use the latter’s expansive Supercharger network consisting of more than 12,000 DC fast chargers in the United States and Canada. Ford customers will gain access to these charging stations beginning next year.
Ford is getting a $9.2 billion government loan to catch up with Tesla
Meanwhile, and further adding to the report earlier, a piece of news from Bloomberg reported on Thursday that Ford is getting a whopping $9.2 billion government loan to catch up with Tesla – yes, taxpayers’ money.
“Not since the advent of the auto industry 100 years ago have we seen an investment like that,” commented KPMG’s global automotive sector leader, Gary Silberg. KPMG is one of the Big Four accounting organizations.
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