Tesla CEO Elon Musk responded to requires his EV maker to purchase competing startup Rivian, in what can be a monumental merger between two industry-leading corporations.
Musk was in Philadelphia on Friday evening for an occasion forward of the U.S. presidential election as he was making an attempt to assist former U.S. President Donald Trump swing Pennsylvania. The cease is one among a number of Musk has deliberate within the Keystone State.
The occasion, whereas extra centered on politics, was additionally met with questions on Tesla, Musk’s electrical car firm.
One attendee who was there to ask Musk a query pushed the CEO on why Tesla had not sought to purchase Rivian, a competing automaker that has a strong shopper base, robust merchandise, and an modern CEO working the corporate however a shaky monetary platform.
Musk stated:
“I want them the most effective. I hope they do nicely. The automobile {industry} is a really troublesome {industry}. There’s solely two U.S. automobile corporations that haven’t gone bankrupt, and that’s Ford and Tesla. Rivian’s going to have a tough time. It’s insanely troublesome to compete within the automobile {industry}. If it weren’t for 2 expertise discontinuities, one being electrification and the opposite being autonomy, I feel Tesla couldn’t succeed with out fixing each.”
Rivian has managed to make it a number of years and is ready to roll out its subsequent era of merchandise with a brand new platform that can convey prices down for it and shoppers, in addition to streamline the manufacturing course of.
Elon Musk was requested tonight why @Tesla hasn’t purchased Rivian:
“I want them the most effective. I hope they do nicely. The automobile {industry} is a really troublesome {industry}. There’s solely two U.S. automobile corporations that haven’t gone bankrupt and that’s Ford and Tesla. Rivian’s going to have a tough time.… pic.twitter.com/yzgSlKkpTs
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) October 19, 2024
Nonetheless, it’s feeling the pains of beginning an EV firm and not using a comparatively infinite quantity of monetary backing, like Lucid with the Saudi PIF.
It had buyers like Ford and Amazon, however these partnerships ended or turned non-exclusive.
Though it stays in a scenario the place it could possibly construct automobiles and increase merchandise, it has but to make a revenue on the automobiles it builds for patrons, one thing that took Tesla a number of years to realize.
Competitors is sweet for the market, as nicely, and Rivian is at present constructing a car platform that caters to a special shopper base than Tesla. Rivian’s automobiles, whereas all-electric like Tesla’s, are extra geared towards the outside and tenting.
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