Is Elon Musk the modern embodiment of car king Henry Ford?

Since trying to add the social media giant Twitter to his rising empire, Elon Musk seems pretty busy. The richest man on this planet is embracing so many things, from freedom of speech, cryptocurrencies, artificial intelligence, electric cars to the conquest of Mars.

People began to see Musk as the car king Henry Ford – who was instrumental in helping America wipe out the horse-drawn carriage and gradually transition to the automobile era. However, this is not a compliment, because if Musk continues to indulge in the little things, then Tesla, the company that helped Musk make a name, will soon lose the throne like the Ford Motor Company of the 1920s.

Henry Ford is famous for his visionary vision and wealth beyond imagination. He was not the inventor of the automobile, but made a great contribution to changing the face of the world at the beginning of the 20th century – when horse-drawn carriages were still the main means of transportation. With the idea of ​​paying $ 5 / day for workers, Henry Ford has become an American hero, a man who is always ambitious to dominate the market and bring a better life to everyone.

Like Musk, two consecutive failures as a beginner in the auto industry did not deter Ford. For him, “failure is simply an opportunity to start over, smarter.”

Samuel Marquis, a friend of Ford, once said that at one point, Henry’s car company was on the front page of every newspaper in the country. Ford’s new philosophy created the belief that “being in the center of public opinion will always be something positive”.

In the 1920s, Ford’s ambitions attracted utter awe. He proposed leasing the government-owned Wilson Dam on the Tennessee River, with the ambition of turning a swath of impoverished Alabama into a hydroelectric industrial metropolis the size of Detroit. The project is “guaranteed” by him with a new digital currency called “energy USD” created by hydroelectricity.

Unfortunately, this plan later went bankrupt. Ford turned to aircraft manufacturing and founded the first national commercial airline in 1925. He also launched educational initiatives, including founding Chief Commercial Officer Henry Ford.

Days later, Ford opened a history museum in his hometown of Dearborn, Michigan, even pouring money into the mountains to build a house filled with memorabilia associated with his childhood. Ford also acquired a newspaper called the Dearborn Independent, later turning it into a national newspaper with a huge circulation.

Holding on to too many things made Ford gradually deviate. A lot of qualified engineers in the automotive field were laid off. Even Ford’s son, Edsel, was cast aside after foretelling the challenges the company faced.

Ford was later commented on as a person “It is better to create public opinion than to produce millions of cars every year“. This, along with the appearance of Alfred P.Sloan, the famous engineer who took control of a General Motors car company, caused the “monument” of Henry Ford to gradually collapse.

Sloan was not interested in being a public figure at the time. He simply wanted to dethrone Ford by re-establishing the market. Instead of only having Model T cars like Ford, General Motors launched “a car to suit every pocket and purpose“. The executives will be in charge of each separate division, such as Chevrolet, Buick or Cadillac …

The difference starts to multiply from there. In the 1920s, Ford pursued a strategy of vertical integration, purchasing mines and large amounts of forest to stabilize the supply of raw materials. Sloan, on the other hand, relies more flexibly on suppliers to pursue big investments.

Ford invested heavily in building Fordlandia, a city inside the Brazilian rainforest to oversee rubber production, while Sloan focused on building stylish cars at affordable prices. Ford continued to expect buyers to pay cash, and Sloan pioneered consumer finance.

In 1929, General Motors became the largest automobile manufacturer in the world. Henry Ford tried to mark a return to the Model A, but it was too late, because by then, General Motors had extended its lead during the Great Depression. Only when Ford’s grandson came to power at the end of World War II and recruited top managers did the company’s fortunes turn.

For Tesla, history is repeating itself once again. The name that can overtake Tesla as the leading electric vehicle maker could be Ford, with its own play. The current Ford CEO doesn’t have tens of millions of Twitter followers. Nor do they dream of changing the world or launching new businesses. In other words, they are not like Henry Ford, and this will certainly greatly affect the modern Ford embodiment – billionaire Elon Musk.

There are many reasons for Elon Musk to buy Twitter, but along with that are the downsides that Tesla has to suffer

According to the Telegraph, there are many reasons for Elon Musk to buy Twitter, but along with that are the downsides that Tesla has to suffer. Gaining control of the new social network will drain Musk’s time, effort and money, at a time when the global electric vehicle industry is in need of a breakthrough.

The evidence is that the US electric car company’s shares closed at the end of last month, down 12% because investors were worried that Elon Musk would sell less to complete the purchase of Twitter. This caused the electric car company’s capitalization to evaporate to $ 126 billion.

Thus, since April 4 – the time Musk announced an increase in shares in Twitter, the capitalization of electric car company Tesla has decreased by more than $ 275 billion after only 3 weeks, equivalent to 23%.

According to: Bloomberg