The battle began when Musk congratulated his team on producing 7,000 vehicles in the space of a week.
The CEOs of Ford Europe and Tesla – Steven Armstrong and Elon Musk respectively - continued their Twitter-banter by exchanging sharp retorts on each other’s comments on the car production capacities of their companies.
On July 1, Musk took to Twitter to congratulate the Tesla team for producing 7,000 vehicles in a week, attracting applause from Twitterati. However, Armstrong mocked Musk’s message by tweeting that Ford could accomplish the same feat in a mere four hours.7000 cars, circa 4 hours. ❤️Ford Team❤️ https://t.co/FZSclsFoS0
— Steven Armstrong (@StevenArmstrong) July 1, 2018
A few months ago, senior deputy bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal Scott Austin quoted Musk in a tweet: “I think there’s a good vibe—I think the energy is good; go to Ford, it looks like a morgue.”
In response, vice president of communications for Ford Motor Company Mark Truby tweeted: "No doubt the vibe is funky in that 'makeshift tent,' but it’s not bad either across the street at the #FordRouge plant where a high quality, high-tech F-150 rolls off the line every 53 seconds like clockwork. Come check it out @elonmusk #BuiltFordTough."
related news
Twitter users responded in huge numbers to Armstrong’s tweet. While some found the comparison illogical, there were others who felt that Armstrong was probably committing the same error made by former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer when he had infamously laughed off the potential of Apple’s iPhone back in 2007.
As it turned out, within a few years, Apple overtook Microsoft in market capitalisation. Ford, with a legacy of more than a century having introduced the automobile assembly line in 1913, has dominated car sales in the US for decades.