Ford and Musk. They made cars. They backed fascists.
Ford and Musk. They made cars. They backed fascists.
Each age’s premier industrialist has had appalling politics.
Summary
Parallels between Henry Ford and Elon Musk illustrate their transformative roles in automaking alongside troubling political affiliations.
Ford's antisemitism and support for Nazi Germany mirror Musk’s current opposition to unions and endorsement of Germany's far-right AfD party, which is linked to neo-Nazism.
Musk's intervention in Germany’s election and promotion of far-right figures on X echoes Ford’s use of media to propagate hate.
Both industrialists are criticized for their social and political impact beyond their industries, with Musk’s actions raising alarm about democracy and labor rights.
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The difference, however, is that Ford actually sold a lot of cars. Musk is essentially being paid for the assumption that he will sell a lot of cars. At some point, maybe...
"Let's piss off liberals who are more likely to buy electric vehicles and see if we make more sales that way. That's a neat trick." -- President Musk, probably.
That's what I'm getting at: on the stock market today, it hardly matters whether a business model is actually successful or not - or even whether there is a realistic possibility of success. Tesla is certainly a company with sustainable technology. But does that justify Tesla being worth more than the 5 largest car manufacturers combined, each of which sells way more cars per year than Tesla? Especially in view of the considerable competition in the EV market.
Another difference is that, along with his racism and fascism, Ford actually had some innovative ideas about manufacturing, rather than just owning shit and mouthing off.
They've sold 7 million cars. That's a lot of cars.
Like I know ya'll hate the dude but don't go making shit up.
Toyota sold more than that in just 2024, and that's just one car company. 7 million seems like a big number, until you realize what the rest of the automotive industry outputs. There's really no way that Tesla is justified as being worth more than all of it's competitors.
Now you're moving the goal posts.
I don't care about the stocks worth, the OP said Ford (old ford) sold a lot of cars and Tesla hasn't.
7 Million cars is a lot. There's not a thing in the world you can say that would ever contradict that.
Edit: If you also want to get into it, Ford sold around 15 million Model T's and other models in 19 years. Tesla started the Model S (their first self made car) in 2012. We're 13 years in, and they're over 7 million. Take 6 more years at 1.8 million each (0 growth) and that would be 17.8 million cars. Tesla is on track to sell more than Ford sold with 0 additional growth. And Tesla is going to keep growing once their newer Models come out.
Ford was selling cars in the 1920s, trying to use absolute values is absurd. Take a look at things like market share. How many cars did Tesla produce this year compared to the rest of the auto industry? It's a clear minority, not even close to the combined might of the rest of the industry. That is how I can say 7 million is not alot; because it isn't. 15 million cars were sold in the United States in 2024. That's one country, one year, buying twice as many cars as the lifetime production of Tesla. That is the scale we are playing in, one where Tesla sales are responsible for just about 11% of the total cars sold in the U.S. last year.
The difference, however, is that Ford actually sold a lot of cars.
Looks like OP is trying to compare the two me.
7 Million of the 2nd most expensive thing people typically ever buy is a lot, whether you want to try and convince yourself it's not.
Not sure what you are talking about: Tesla delivered 1.79 mio cars last year, less than the year before and not much more than BYD (source). Just for comparison: Toyota alone sold more than 2.3 million cars in North America in 2024 (source)
The 7 million cars you mention without a source can only refer to all the cars Tesla has ever sold. That would still be fewer than Toyota sells worldwide in one year.
We're not talking about yearly sales. The article is about how musk and ford both backed fascists and then YOU SAY
"The difference, however, is that Ford actually sold a lot of cars. "
So stop moving the goal post and admit you're wrong.
Also my edit above shows Tesla is on track to sell MORE vehicles than Ford did in the same time frame.
Are you serious?
Are you serious?
The difference, however, is that Ford actually sold a lot of cars.
When I was four, I once ate 23 shrimp in one sitting. That’s a lot of shrimp!
If an adult were to eat 23 shrimp, it would be wholly unremarkable.
Ford was the first person to make broadly affordable cars in an immature market.
Around a century later, ford’s numbers are dwarfed by a much larger auto market.
Just because they might sell less cars than others in an established market where the others have decades of extra growth time on them, doesn't negate the fact that they sell a lot of cars.
You are all delusional in your attempt to deny that 7 million cars is a lot of cars.
It’s a lot of cars like 23 is a lot of shrimp. It is, but not compared to the size of an adult (or other auto makers, even younger ones than Tesla!)
I'm not trying to say it's a lot compared to Toyota. OP is saying they haven't sold a lot of cars while making a direct comparison to old Ford, while having sold 7 million, and also on track to beat the until now undisputed record at scaling from nothing to something that Ford originally made.
Edit: In case it wasn't clear, it was a terrible comparison for OP to make
I know that’s how this started. I don’t think it makes a difference. It would be wild to say “car manufacturers like ford and Tesla make a lot of cars,” because that’s misleading. What everyone else is doing is saying “[for a global auto manufacturer,] Tesla doesn’t sell a lot of cars,” and you’re not adding the bracketed portion.
You don’t have to, but it’s implied by the framing and everyone else isn’t wrong because they’re inferring the correct context that you’re unable or unwilling to infer.