Ford CEO Farley joins VW’s Diess to give credit to Tesla and Musk https://t.co/8VagJ2KkJi via @insideevs.com

– InsideEVs (@InsideEVs) October 29, 2021

Give Tesla credit

Ford CEO Jim Farley publicly recognized Elon Musk as a pioneer in electric vehicles:

Thank you for showing the way…. https://t.co/V5HpjAgl6A

– Jim Farley (@ jimfarley98) October 28, 2021

There is a lot of credit to be given here. Elon Musk helped Tesla lead the energy transition to sustainable energy, and all other automakers have responded to Tesla in making electric vehicles. It’s one of the biggest disruptions in a market I’ve ever seen. We haven’t had such a major glitch since Steve Jobs’ iPhone release in 2007.

Not too many products have been launched by companies that are really changing the world and saving humanity. Tesla and SpaceX are two companies. Dare I say some of the plant-based companies and genomics companies are others that are helping to save humanity.

It takes humility to tell the truth about someone, and Ford CEO Jim Farley did it. The question now is, where does it go next? Will Ford and VW manage to switch to electric vehicles and do it profitably? Let’s find out.

A long way to go

Ford and VW still have a long way to go. Tesla went through a slew of growth struggles when they launched the original Roadster and models of the model a decade ago. Then came the Model 3 production ramp, which prompted Elon Musk to “put all hands on deck” to ensure the success of the project.

Right now, Ford and VW still have their ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) vehicles making profits and sales for each of their companies. But what if those ICE sales start to decline? If these companies can’t sell enough electric vehicles to make the difference, then the companies are in trouble.

One of the great things about companies like Tesla, Nio, and Lucid Motors is that they all already make electric vehicles. Charging infrastructure is being built everywhere. Ford, VW and every other ICE vehicle maker need to find a way to stay in business and make the transition to electric vehicles successfully.

The approach most are taking is to slowly phase out ICE vehicles and slowly phase out electric vehicles. But I don’t think this strategy will work due to the ever increasing adoption of electric vehicles. When ICE vehicle sales drop significantly and EV sales are growing rapidly, the challenge you face is that there is additional inventory and space for ICE vehicles and not enough EVs are being sold to meet demand. It will lead to bankruptcy for a lot of automakers I believe.

What is the solution?

I think the solution is to go for electric vehicles, and ICE vehicle manufacturers should have been doing it years ago when they saw the trend change. But, as with most things, there isn’t enough incentive to do it until it looks like a big problem – because what if you’re wrong and you didn’t need to do it?

Now that it is clear that electric vehicles are the future, how does an old automaker make the transition without fail? I think they are going to lose money and if they go bankrupt they will be saved. Or they have to band together and fire people to keep spending under control.

I think it’s going to be messy for some of the old automakers like GM, Ford, and VW unless they find a way to quickly switch to electric vehicles.

What do you think of electric vehicles – is that the future? How will the old automakers switch to electric vehicles without going bankrupt?

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Jeremy Johnson is a Tesla investor and supporter. He first invested in Tesla in 2017 after following Elon Musk for years and admiring its work ethic and intelligence. Since then, he’s grown into a Tesla bull covering everything he can find about Tesla while also trying his hand at other electric vehicle companies. Jeremy reports on Tesla’s developments at Torque News. You can follow him Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram to keep in touch and follow his Tesla coverage on Torque News.