Tesla chief Elon Musk and Ford CEO Jim Farley seem to have reached a ‘friends’ agreement: They will work together, but remain rivals at heart.
At least, that’s the impression Farley gave when discussing his company’s partnership with its competitor To use the Tesla charging network.
Talking to Jim Cramer from CNBCFarley said he has no qualms about being “opportunistic” on behalf of his customers, because the agreement means Ford drivers will be able to use any of Tesla’s 12,000 Chargers across the US and Canada by the end of 2024.
He said the company didn’t hesitate when signing the deal, with the Ford team admiring Tesla Reliability and locations when it comes to charging points.
Although Farley is confident about Ford’s “extensive” network of Chargers — more than 84,000 across North America — he said Tesla’s additions have been “good for customers.”
Farley, who has served as CEO of Ford since 2020, hopes to get an additional boon of increased visibility by getting Ford engines into Tesla’s freight yards.
“When you go to a charging station, it’s a social experience,” he explained. “People don’t realize it looks a lot like 1920s gas stations, and people go ‘Oh, that’s a Ford, I thought everyone should buy a Tesla.'” Look at the Mach-E shipped over there, I should probably look at that one.”
Turning to the rivalry between the two companies, Farley doesn’t seem to soften the agreement when it comes to Musk himself.
He said that during negotiations for the deal, the tech giant was “respectful,” but added that it “was more about Henry Ford than Jim Farley.”
Farley also brushed off any concerns about Musk’s Cybertruck taking on Ford’s electric vehicles like the Lightning truck model.
Responding to the insinuation that Ford was a combustion engine company with just an entry into the electric vehicle world, Farley said, “The truth is, America loves the underdog — and we’re the market leader for electric vehicle trucks and vans, and we know those customers better than anyone.”
“If he (Elon Musk) wants to design a Cybertruck for the people of Silicon Valley, that’s fine,” Farley added.
“It’s like a great high-end product standing in front of a hotel,” he said. “But I don’t make trucks like that. I make trucks for real people doing real work, and this is a different kind of truck.”
America at its heart
Musk is pondering which world leaders he would tie his next big investment to – after flirting with French President Emmanuel Macron, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, South Korean President Yoon Sok-yul, as well as China’s trade ministers.
Farley, on the other hand, is determined to stay close to his roots.
Despite tough negotiations on the horizon for Ford with United Auto Workers Union Farley said he wanted to keep the majority of production in the US, adding, “We’ll see what happens, but the truth is we’ve always been in America at our company.
″We believe in a US-built BlueOval in Tennessee or a Kentucky-built EV pickup truck; People will pay for that American technology.”
These employees will work in one of three Ford segments: Ford Blue for its conventional vehicles, Ford Pro for its commercial vehicles and Ford Model E for its electric vehicles.
business reorganization, Announced in March last yearIt came as Ford confirmed that it expects to spend $50 billion on electric vehicles by 2026 — “we’re all going,” Farley said in a statement at the time.
A little more than 12 months later, Farley remains optimistic about Ford’s electric prospects — despite a decline in electric vehicle revenue this quarter.
He told CNBC that he expects to see a positive 8% margin by the end of 2026, an optimistic outlook from Ford’s latest earnings report that saw Revenue was $41.5 billion—far ahead of the consensus estimate of $39.25 billion.