Ford Poaches Another Tesla Executive To Further Its EV Ambitions

Ford Motor Company F CEO Jim Farley rarely misses an opportunity to show his admiration for electric vehicle pioneer Tesla Inc. TSLA. Then it shouldn't come as a surprise that the legacy automaker is filling key positions in its EV division with former Tesla executives.

What Happened: Alan Clarke, a Tesla veteran, joined Ford's Advanced EV Development division in January, the executive's LinkedIn profile revealed. The move was first reported by Automotive News.

Clarke was with Tesla for more than 12 years before moving to Ford. His last role at Tesla was director of new programs engineering, where he was overseeing engineering and development of advanced prototypes and future models at Tesla's Los Angeles Design and Engineering Center.

At Ford, Clarke will be reporting to Doug Field, who joined the automaker in September as chief officer of advanced technology and embedded systems, after being with Apple Inc. AAPL and Tesla.

Related Link: If You Invested $1,000 In Ford's Stock One Year Ago, Here's How Much You'd Have Now

Why It's Important: Ford is going all out to transition quickly into EVs, investing billions of dollars for converting factories and building new ones as well as for EV and battery development. Last week, Bloomberg reported that Ford will spend up to $20 billion to reorganize itself for the electric future. The report also suggested the company is even mulling spinning off the EV business into a separate company in a bid to maximize shareholder value.

Ford announced in September an $11.4 billion investment to build a new campus in Tennessee and twin battery plants in Kentucky. The company had earlier earmarked an investment of more than $30 billion for electrification by 2025.

F Price Action: Ford shares were down 1.61% at $18.06 Thursday afternoon at publication.

Related Link: Ford Can't Compete With Tesla Despite Doubling F-150 Lightning Production: Analyst