A corporate communications officer for Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) got involved in a rare trash Twitter talking about a competitor – in this case, Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) – referring to Tesla’s Model Y is “vaporware”.
What happened: The criticism was sparked by a tweet from Tesla investor Ross Gerber, who is also CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management.
In a tweet on Sunday morning, EST, Gerber expressed his dissatisfaction with the Ford Mustang Mach E electric vehicle for Mike Levine, Ford Communications Manager for North America.
“Dear Ford,” Gerber tweeted. “There is no point in trying to compare Mach and a tesla. It is not and is not close. Furthermore. It will be helpful for you not to have your resellers stealing EV customers at rates of BS $ 5000. You must return the money to the customers you stole. @mrlevine $ F $ TSLA. “
Levine responded to Gerber within the hour with that tweet: “Why would Ford have to compare? Don’t listen to me. Listen to the media. And return those $ 10,000 deposits to drive on your own. Mach-E customers leave with a car. Tesla customers come out with vaporware. “
Why would Ford have to compare? Don’t listen to me. Listen to the media. And return those $ 10,000 deposits to drive on your own. Mach-E customers leave with a car. Tesla customers leave with vaporware. https://t.co/bpC8JRNTR1 https://t.co/y3ZOcIos3H
– Mike Levine (@mrlevine) March 21, 2021
Levine’s tweet included an Associated Press article comparing the Model Y and Mach E, with the result leaning in favor of Mach-E.
What else happened: Levine sent a post-script tweet addressing Gerber’s charge of improper fees from Ford dealers.
“Any Mach-E customer who sees a dealer adding an appointment can contact me,” he tweeted. “I will help you find another dealer. Good luck getting in touch with Tesla to get your FSD. “
Levine then reminded Gerber – and Twitter readers after his fight – that this eye for an eye was taking place on what was supposed to be a day off from work.
“I have another LTE patch,” he tweeted. “While @GerberKawasaki basks in the healthy glow of your #MustangMachE-obsessed iPad, I stay busy for the next few hours enjoying life. It’s spring! Lower the iPad. “
Levine included a photo of Mach-E driving on mountainous terrain off-road with his final tweet.
Gerber did not respond directly to Levine’s comments, but spent more time on Twitter criticizing Ford in a series of tweets that included remarks like “Ford is selling a lot of Bronco gas-drunk trucks with high margins and couldn’t care less about selling the Mach E ”AND“ TESLA HAS NO COMPETITION. And traditional auto companies will never compete. It’s just a dead model. The old car dealer model. Dead.”
Photo of the Ford Mustang Mach-E, courtesy of Craig James / Wikimedia.
© 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.