Hyundai Motor Group boss Euisun Chung has given uncommon public reward to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, crediting him with forcing the worldwide automotive trade to vary course and accelerating the adoption of electrical autos.
When requested who he most revered within the trade in an interview with Automotive Information, the Hyundai Motor Group boss gave a solution many conventional executives would keep away from.
“Somebody had requested me, who you actually respect on this trade? I answered, Elon Musk. Elon Musk, with out him, our trade, even together with me, [would] by no means change… possibly,” he mentioned.
“So … the battery EV idea is developed [because] he actually pushed, that [and] accelerated that. So I feel he’s actually, actually exceptional for that, [for] doing that.”
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The feedback acknowledge what has lengthy been some extent of stress within the trade. Whereas legacy automakers usually criticised Tesla’s strategy — from direct-to-consumer gross sales to over-the-air software program updates — many have since adopted comparable methods.
Sarcastically, Hyundai made electrical autos (EVs) nicely earlier than Tesla turned a family identify. The Korean firm developed its first pure EV in 1991 with the Sonata Electrical Car.
For Hyundai, Mr Musk’s push on EVs has reshaped its trajectory. The group has quickly expanded its Ioniq electrical lineup and overtaken most rivals in international EV market share, alongside its affiliate Kia.
By acknowledging Elon Musk’s affect, Euisun Chung is successfully admitting that Tesla’s early dangers pressured Hyundai and others to speed up their very own EV packages.
Hyundai has additionally sought to distinguish itself by way of investments in hydrogen, autonomous driving analysis, and built-in mobility companies.
Whereas the worldwide EV uptake has not met earlier estimates set out by many automakers, together with Hyundai, the corporate stays one of many few manufacturers that has the monetary capability to put money into competing applied sciences and believes in a future the place battery-electric autos coexist alongside hydrogen and probably different applied sciences.
His feedback on Tesla and Elon Musk come at a time when Hyundai has dedicated to growing its funding in US manufacturing from 2025 to 2028 to US$26 billion, together with opening a brand new metal mill in Louisiana.
