Ford North American Product Communications Manager, Mike Levine, got into a Twitter spat with Tesla investor Ross Gerber on Sunday morning.
The resulting exchange online resulted in Levine calling Tesla’s FSD ‘vaporware’, alluding to the ongoing promise of the autonomous software’s release by Elon Musk.
“Dear Ford. It serves no value to try to compare the Mach e to a tesla. It is not and it’s not close. Also. It will serve you to not have your dealers ripping off EV customers with BS $5000 fees. You should return the money to the customers you ripped off,” said Gerber on Sunday morning, directing his tweet at Levin.
Dear Ford. It serves no value to try to compare the Mach e to a tesla. It is not and it’s not close. Also. It will serve you to not have your dealers ripping off EV customers with BS $5000 fees. You should return the money to the customers you ripped off. @mrlevine $F $TSLA
— Ross Gerber (@GerberKawasaki) March 21, 2021
Levin did not hold back in his response, firing back, “Why would Ford have to compare? Don’t listen to me. Listen to the media. And return those $10K full-self driving deposits. Mach-E customers drive away with a car. Tesla customers drive off with vaporware,” while sharing a link to an Edmunds story comparing the Mach-E to the Model Y.
Why would Ford have to compare? Don’t listen to me. Listen to the media. And return those $10K full-self driving deposits. Mach-E customers drive away with a car. Tesla customers drive off with vaporware. https://t.co/bpC8JRNTR1 https://t.co/y3ZOcIos3H
— Mike Levine (@mrlevine) March 21, 2021
“Any Mach-E customer who sees a dealer adding a markup can reach out to me. I’ll help them find another dealer. Good luck reaching out to Tesla to get your FSD,” followed up Levine, who was out driving his Ford Ranger “enjoying life” on the weekend.
“I have another patch of LTE. While @GerberKawasaki basks in the healthy glow of his iPad obsessing about the #MustangMachE, I’m tied up for the next few hours enjoying life. It’s Spring! Put the iPad down,” said Levin, firing shots at Gerber.
I have another patch of LTE. While @GerberKawasaki basks in the healthy glow of his iPad obsessing about the #MustangMachE, I’m tied up for the next few hours enjoying life. It’s Spring! Put the iPad down. pic.twitter.com/6lXz2W7k8O
— Mike Levine (@mrlevine) March 21, 2021
Gerber responded, “LOL – [I’m] in the investing business so I read and do news all morning everyday. I don’t work for the man with a salary and pension. I’ll be done soon. Worked yesterday too.”
LOL – im in the investing business so I read and do news all morning everyday. I don’t work for the man with a salary and pension. I’ll be done soon. Worked yesterday too.
— Ross Gerber (@GerberKawasaki) March 21, 2021
You got to love it when two grown men handle a healthy ‘discussion’ on Twitter. For Levine, his call out of FSD being ‘vaporware’ likely will result in the online Tesla Twitter army defending their brand. Levine’s Twitter bio says his thoughts shared are his own and not reflective of his employer, but his troll job on Sunday will likely send Tesla fans into a tizzy.
