Cross-fire of "zingers" between Elon Musk and Mercedes over their lack of commitment to electric vehicles

The CEO of Tesla takes Mercedes to task for its lack of investment in its electric mobility project, and the German manufacturer responds.

Mercedes and Tesla will always have a special relationship. It must not be forgotten that a few years ago the Germans injected 50 million euros into the American company when it was going through one of its most difficult moments, but that does not stop Elon Musk from taking the liberty of giving a dressing-down to his European rival over the delay its electric mobility project is experiencing, the well-known EQ range.

A few days ago Mercedes announced that it would make a major investment in one of its plants dedicated to the production of electric vehicles and batteries. This production centre, located in the United States, will receive 1,000 million euros of funding, an amount that at first glance may seem high but that is insignificant when compared with the 70,000 million that the German group Volkswagen has invested in its Road-e programme (a project through which the German giant intends to manufacture its own batteries).

In this context, the CEO of Tesla did not hesitate to send a message to Mercedes, claiming that the amount invested in its EQ project is insufficient to keep it afloat. In fact, Elon Musk himself used irony in his message, stating that he “missed a zero” in Mercedes’s budget.

Mercedes was quick to respond to Musk’s message, and did so with a tweet that reads as follows: “You’re absolutely right @elonmusk. Here’s the missing zero: Investing over 10 billion in the next generation of electric cars and over a billion in battery production.”

You’re absolutely right

@elonmusk. Here the missing zero: Investing >$10bn in nxt gen EVs & >$1bn in battery prod. 👉 https://t.co/Tk747isWAc

— Daimler AG (@Daimler) September 25, 2017

According to the German manufacturer, the announced 1,000 million investment forms part of a larger investment endowed with 10,000 million euros. Therefore, the first billion euros will be allocated solely to battery production at the US plant, while the rest will go towards developing the company’s new generation of electric cars.

This message seems to have pleased Elon Musk more, who replied to Mercedes’s tweet with a simple “good”.

Good

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 25, 2017

Although it may seem illogical, it is in Tesla’s interest for its competitors to develop their electric vehicle fleets, which explains the pressure Musk is applying with messages like this one. After all, the entry of brands such as Mercedes increases media coverage of electric cars, something Tesla would benefit from as it has a more established product than its rivals. Being first has its advantages.