Tesla's No. 1 Fan Works for Its Biggest Rival
Under Herbert Diess’s direction, Volkswagen has begun benchmarking itself against Elon Musk’s carmaker. But the comparisons create their own risks.
Musk and Diess: Brothers in electric arms.
Photo: picture alliance
Investors who joined Volkswagen AG’s annual spending update this week may have wondered whether they had the dial-in details right. Chief Executive Officer Herbert Diess was there to explain how VW will deploy its massive 150 billion-euro ($178 billion) investment budget over the next five years, but he spent much of the time talking about another carmaker based thousands of miles away in California.
Tesla Inc. was mentioned 31 times by management and analysts during the near two-hour presentation. That’s how much Elon Musk’s electric-car venture is occupying VW’s minds these days, and those of its investors.