Highlights:
- Elon Musk makes surprise appearance at Volkswagen’s conference
- Elon Musk was invited by Herbert Diess, the Chief Executive officer of the rival, German, car manufacturer
Owner of Tesla Inc, Elon Musk, addressed 200 executives of the rival car manufacturer, Volkswagen, via a video call after he was invited by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the German Car manufacturer, Herbert Diess, who wants to galvanise VW’s top brass for a faster pivot to Electric Vehicles (EVs).
The comment which were made by Elon Musk to the VW managers, on Thursday, who were gathered in Alpbach, Austria, were also confirmed by Diess via a tweet on the weekend after a report in Handelsblatt daily, included praise of VW for being an “icon” and Tesla’s greatest challenger, Handelsblatt said. Herbert Diess wrote, “With a new mindset & a revolution in our headquarter Wolfsburg we can succeed the new competition. Good meeting with 200 top managers in Alpbach. Big responsibility at a crucial point for our company. Thx for joining @ErinMeyerINSEAD & @elonmusk,we will visit you soon in Grünheide,” on Twitter.
With a new mindset & a revolution in our headquarter Wolfsburg we can succeed the new competition.Good meeting with 200 top managers in Alpbach. Big responsibility at a crucial point for our company. Thx for joining @ErinMeyerINSEAD & @elonmusk,we will visit you soon in Grünheide pic.twitter.com/dwYyXZnBT8
— Herbert Diess (@Herbert_Diess) October 16, 2021
The German-language business newspaper said that when Diess asked why Tesla was more nimble than its rivals, Musk said it came down to his management style and that the fact that Elon Musk is an engineer first, and also has an eye for the supply chains, logistics as well as the production.
In a post on Linkedin, Diess added that he had brought Musk as a “surprise guest” to drive home the point that VW needs faster decisions and less bureaucracy for what he calls the biggest transformation in the history of Volkswagen.
On LinkedIn, Diess said, “Happy to hear that even our strongest competitor thinks that we will succeed (in) the transition if we drive the transformation with full power”.
Pointing out Tesla’s prowess, Diess said it only took the US-based EV manufacturer two to three weeks to rewrite software which allowed them to make the switch from one type of microchip, that had went out of stock, to another microchip.
In his tween on Saturday, Diess had said that VW, which has emerged as the main contender to Tesla for global electric vehicle supremacy, would continue its dialogue with Tesla.
The CEO of the German car manufacturer said, “We will visit you soon in Gruenheide”.
Last month, Diess warned that the planned opening of Tesla’s car factory at Gruenheide close to near Berlin, the company’s first in Europe, will force the local industry to step up its game against the fast-growing U.S. Electric Vehicle manufacturer.
Tesla now awaits a final building approval for the 5.8 billion Euro ($6.8 billion) German site. In turn, the German car manufacturer is planning to build six huge battery factories in Europe by 2030 as part of an all-in bet on electric mobility.
