Volkswagen CEO To Now Compete With Elon Musk On Twitter, Warns Of Grabbing 'Some Market Share' From Tesla

Volkswagen AG VWAGY CEO Herbert Diess made his debut on Twitter Inc’s TWTR platform on Wednesday by taking a dig at Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk.

What Happened: The executive said that he was on Twitter to make an “impact” and grab some market share.

Hello @Twitter! I’m here to make an impact with @VWGroup, especially on political issues. And, of course, to get some of your market shares, @elonmusk – after all, our ID.3 and e-tron have won the first markets in Europe. Looking forward to productive discussions!

— Herbert Diess (@Herbert_Diess) January 20, 2021

Diess’s comments assume significance as Volkswagen outpaced Tesla sales in some key European markets such as Norway.

Why It Matters: The German automaker’s CEO had admitted in November that the company saw itself in a “race with Tesla.”

Diess took a test drive in a Tesla Model Y and called it a “reference” car for automakers in September.

Musk too had driven Volkswagen’s ID.3 electric vehicle during a meeting with Diess last year and said that for a “non-sporty car, it’s pretty good.”

The best-selling EV in Europe in 2020 was Renault SA’s RNLSY ZOE with 83,000 units sold and an 8% market share. Tesla’s Model 3 was ranked second with 63,000 units sold and a 6% market share. Volkswagen’s ID.3 was ranked sixth but could end up at the number three or four spots, as per InsideEVs.

Price Action: Volkswagen OTC shares closed 3.66% higher at $20.94 on Wednesday. On the same day, Tesla shares closed 0.7% higher at $850.45 and gained 0.17% in the after-hours session.
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Photo courtesy: Alexander Migl via Wikimedia