It seems Musk’s mention of a possible collaboration with BMW has ruffled a few Bavarian feathers. While it’s certainly true that there has been a couple confabs between executives of Tesla and its German counterpart, media reports have made more of the meetings than some at the European automaker are comfortable with. A report from Wirtschafts Woche cites an insider who not only plays down any possibility of working with the California company, but also takes a shot at Elon, saying,
Nach dem Ausstieg von Daimler und Toyota bei Tesla im Oktober wolle sich Musk offenbar mit dem Namen BMW schmücken, vermuten die Münchner: „Musk benutzt uns für PR-Zwecke.”
Which is to say (if this Bing auto-translater doohickey is to be trusted),
After the departure of Daimler and Toyota at Tesla in October, Musk wants apparently decorate with the name BMW, the Munich suspect: “Musk used us for PR purposes.”
And which we translate as, “Since Daimler and Toyota have divested their Tesla holding in October, Musk wants to spruce up his company using BMW’s reputation: Musk used us for PR purposes.”
This little back and forth probably isn’t over, and we still wouldn’t be surprised if it doesn’t end in a deal. This could just be the opinion of one guy at BMW who’s still mad about Elon laughing at their i3 during the 2nd quarter 2013 financial results call. For a little reminder of what that sounded like, scroll down the page for a video containing the amusing audio.
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