Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO Elon Musk said on Thursday that his electric vehicle and Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) were the only American automakers that did not fail among the thousands of startups operating in the industry.
What happened: Musk reasoned on Twitter that although “prototypes are easy, production is difficult [and] having positive cash flow is painful. “
The businessman also reacted to Twitter users who posted about the rivalry between the two companies’ trucks.
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 4, 2021
Why does it matter: In November 2018, Musk said in an interview that the “history of automakers in America is terrible.”
He had said at the time, “the only ones who have not gone bankrupt are Tesla and Ford. That’s it. All the others went bankrupt. “
See also: How to Invest in Tesla Shares
Musk credited his excruciating effort and the 100-hour weeks of Tesla employees for Tesla’s survival.
Musk had said that while General Motors Company (NYSE: GM) and Chrysler – now a brand under Stellantis NV (NYSE: STLA) – it had already gone bankrupt, Ford and Tesla were barely able to survive the recession.
Musk did not seem optimistic about Ford’s prospects in 2018 and said: “there is a good chance that Ford will not survive in the next recession.”
See too: Tesla Cybertruck loses to Ford F-150 in Cox survey of US pickup buyers
In November, Musk revealed that Tesla was only a month away from bankruptcy before the launch of Model 3.
He said it was “extremely difficult” to raise money for an electric car startup when companies like GM and Chrysler were going bankrupt.
“I put in my last money, although I thought we would still fail. But it was either that or certain death for Tesla. “
On Wednesday, Tesla was reported to be losing market share of EV batteries to the Ford Mustang Mach-E, according to Morgan Stanley.
Price action: Tesla shares fell 3.43% in the after-hours session on Thursday, to $ 600.10, after closing the regular session with a 4.86% fall at $ 621.44. On the same day, Ford shares closed nearly 2% lower at $ 11.93 and fell nearly 2.2% in the after-hours session.
Click on here to check Benzinga’s EV Hub for the latest news on electric vehicles.
Photo courtesy of: Forbes via Wikimedia
© 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.