Ford Motor Co.’s (NYSE:F) Jim Farley recently took a potshot at Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk.
The Dearborn, Michigan-based manufacturer's own F-150 Lightning electric vehicle (EV) pickup truck is already the leader in this segment in the U.S., Farley boasted, adding: “Take that, Elon Musk.”
The jab at Musk and Tesla, Ford's EV rival, was met with a round of applause from the audience. Farley’s comments came during an event to announce a new clean energy agreement with DTE Energy (NYSE:DTE).
When the video clip was shared on Twitter by a user, going by the handle @_Tesla247_, Musk gave a wry reply: “Thanks, but I already have one.”
Thanks, but I already have one
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 11, 2022
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The reply is apparently in reference to Tesla's own EV pickup truck, the Cybertruck, which is in the works.
Ford, with Farley at the helm since Oct. 1, 2020, has beaten Tesla in the EV pickup truck race, with the electrified version of its best-selling Lightning pickup truck commencing deliveries in late May. Earlier this week, the company flagged increases in the prices of all variants of the EV pickup truck.
Tesla’s Cybertruck is a long time coming. Musk confirmed at Tesla’s annual shareholders’ meeting held last week that it would arrive in 2023.
In the meantime, expect the back-and-forth between the auto competitors to continue for better or worse. Last year, Musk touted that Tesla and Ford were "the only American carmakers not to have gone bankrupt" out of thousands of car startups.
"Prototypes are easy, production is hard & being cash flow positive is excruciating," Musk tweeted.
Farley retweeted Musk's comment, with a one-word reply: "Respect."
Months later, Ford seemingly made fun of Musk with an ad to celebrate International Workers Day on May 1.
“Right now, it could seem that the only people who matter are the loudest,” says actor Bryan Cranston in a voiceover. “Those who want to tear things down, and then fly away on their own personal spaceships when things get harder.”
The dig was likely a reference to Musk's Space X endeavors, as well as Tesla’s recent race-bias lawsuit.
Tesla shares closed Wednesday’s session 3.89% higher at $883.07, according to Benzinga Pro data. Ford, meanwhile, rallied 3.06% before closing at $15.50.
