Despite what appears to be a relationship of mutual respect between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Ford CEO Jim Farley, it looks like the Detroit-based automaker is taking aim at Musk in their latest ad campaign.
Ford aired debuted the minute-long advertisement during the Kentucky Derby, and it certainly looks to be taking some digs at not only Musk and Tesla, but also SpaceX.
The ad starts off with a close up of a person using a mobile phone and says:
Right now, it can seem like the only people who matter are the loudest—the ones who want to tear things down, and they fly away on their own personal spaceships when things get hard.
This voiceover is then ended with a scene of a rocket ship launch, which is blatantly a shot at Musk’s aerospace company.
However, Ford is not saying that this ad is about Musk, Tesla, or SpaceX. But it certainly is about Elon Musk for those of us who can read between the lines.
According to a company spokesperson, the ad is more about Ford’s UAW workforce and its $50 billion commitment to electrifying its vehicles:
The goal of the ad campaign is to celebrate all workers, beginning with Ford, which employs more hourly workers in the United States and assembles more vehicles in America than any other automaker. [The ad] is about using spaces that typically idolize tech gurus, CEOs, and celebrities to elevate our everyday builders and makers. (via Business Insider)
Ford is not the first, nor will it be the last automaker to go after the Tesla CEO. Earlier this year at the Super Bowl, Polestar aired an ad going after Tesla and Musk. Not one to shy away from controversy, Musk replied to the commercial with a simple laughing face emoji on Twitter.
Musk has so far not responded to Ford’s latest efforts.
You can check out the ad for yourself on Ford’s YouTube page. Let us know what you think of it in the comments below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdzGsdgsg10&feature=emb_title
