An official Ford spokesman called the ‘Full Self-Driving’ package Tesla’s ‘vaporware’ in a fight with a Tesla investor over the Mustang Mach-E.
The press consultancy and communication personnel of traditional automakers are usually very careful about what they say, especially when it comes to the competition, because they are official representatives of the company.
That’s why we were surprised to see this interaction between Mike Levine, Ford’s North American communications manager, and Ross Gerber, an investor who has been with Tesla for a long time.
Levine leads Ford’s communications for cars, trucks, SUVs and electric vehicles in North America, according to his own LinkedIn profile.
Gerber tagged him in a Twitter comment about Ford comparing the Mustang Mach-E with the Tesla Model Y and Ford dealerships charging extra fees for his new electric SUV.
Levine responded by saying that the media itself is comparing Tesla vehicles to Mach-E and that Tesla is “stealing” customers with its fully autonomous “vaporware”:
In subsequent tweets, Levine offered to help anyone interested in the Mustang Mach-E find another dealership if they are paying extra fees.
During the launch of Mach-E last year, some Ford dealers were branding the electric SUV at up to $ 15,000.
Ford is investigating the problem and reserve holders have compiled a list of dealerships that have agreed not to mark the Mustang Mach-E.
Electrek’s Take
I’m surprised that a Ford representative would say something like that in a public setting on a verified account.
Although “vaporware” is a more vague term that some would certainly argue that it applies to Tesla’s FSD package, saying that Tesla steals people is more serious.
If you want my 2 cents, I think both are wrong here.
I think it’s perfectly fine for Ford or anyone to compare the Mustang Mach-E with the Tesla Model Y.
“There is no point in trying to compare Mach and a tesla. It is not and it is not close ”
I don’t think it’s exactly fair. Although Tesla appears to have great advantages on paper, especially in reach and efficiency, we found in our road test that Ford appears to be much more conservative in its estimates than Tesla.
The vehicles compete in the same segment and it is perfectly normal to compare them.
Some Tesla fans, especially Tesla investors, have a bad tendency to discard new electric vehicles, especially when people try to compare them favorably with Tesla’s.
As for Levine, I certainly wouldn’t call Tesla’s FSD package “vaporware”. It’s true that he still doesn’t live up to his name, but people now have a lot of resources for him that add value.
Some healthy competition is good, but maybe everyone should relax a bit in this case.
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