Elon Musk rips Mercedes' electric vehicle goals, Mercedes hits back
After Elon Musk expressed disappointment with the electric vehicle investments of Daimler, the parent company of automaker Mercedes-Benz, the company shot back at Musk with its grander electric ambitions.
On Sunday, a USA TODAY Money tweet reported Daimler's commitment of $1 billion dollars to upgrade an existing Mercedes factory and build a new battery plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where Mercedes plans to produce its futuristic, all-electric SUVs. Musk, however, was not impressed with just a $1 billion dollar investment from such a massive, legacy automaker.
After seeing the criticism from the Tesla CEO, Daimler defended its electric vehicle plans, stating that its total investment is over ten times that reported by USA TODAY Money, at over $10 billion:
The link Daimler retorted with shows that it has much greater electric vehicle goals beyond the $1 billion dollar commitment toward upgrading its existing Tuscaloosa plant and building a brand new battery plant nearby, which would be its fifth battery plant globally. According to Daimler's electric vehicle site, Mercedes plans to produce the previously mentioned all-electric SUV with an impressive 310 miles of range, a massive 26-ton all electric truck, charging stations, batteries, and other e-products.
Upon seeing Daimler's reaction to his tweet, Musk gave a succinct response to his formidable electric vehicle competitors:
