Ford chair says Trump's ties to Musk won't hurt automakers

Ford Motor Co. Chairman Bill Ford said Elon Musk’s relationship with President-elect Donald Trump won’t hurt legacy automakers and that Trump has a better grasp of the industry than during his first term.

“This time he understands the importance of our industry," Ford said in an interview in Detroit on Thursday. He said Trump called him last week to discuss the auto industry, tariffs and the importance of a healthy manufacturing base in the US. It took some “education" to bring Trump up to speed on the auto industry during his first four years in office, Ford said.

Ford said he’s not worried that Trump’s alliance with Musk, the chief executive officer of electric car maker Tesla Inc., will hurt Ford or other legacy automakers. “We are aligned on a lot of issues," Ford said of Musk.

Trump’s first term in office roiled the US auto industry as his administration levied new tariffs and threatened others, revamped free trade agreements and upended key regulatory policies.

The automaker has been a frequent target of Trump’s ire. Before he won the 2016 election, Trump attacked the company over plans at the time to produce some vehicles in Mexico. Ford was also among the carmakers targeted by an eventually scuttled probe by the Justice Department during Trump’s first term over a pact on fuel efficiency standards the companies reached with California regulators.

Ford acknowledged that his relationship with the president “had its ups and downs" during Trump’s first term and that he believes Trump is very interested in connecting with auto workers but not necessarily their union leaders. He added he believes Trump will be helpful for Ford because the incoming president wants to see the US auto industry grow.

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Tax credits

Ford said he and Trump also discussed EV tax credits for consumers and manufacturing incentives for EV and battery production. Trump has said he would reverse Joe Biden’s EV policies — which include $7,500 tax credits on some electric cars — on day one of his presidency.

“I feel very confident going forward that Ford will have a voice and a seat at the table," said the great-grandson of company founder Henry Ford.

Ford said he spoke with the president-elect for a “long, long time."

The automaker’s chairman wasn’t expecting a call from Trump and didn’t pick up the first two times his phone showed a call coming in from Boca Raton, Florida.

“On the third time, I figured I better pick this up. And he said. ‘Hey, Bill, it’s Donald Trump.’"

Ford said his takeaway from the call was that Trump is out to “help the American auto industry and not just the industry itself, but actually help the workers in the industry. He cares very much about the people in the plants."

Separately, Ford Chief Executive Officer Jim Farley said the automaker plans to sell extended range electric vehicles — which use a small combustion engine to replenish the battery — in the US.

“I can say we are not only looking at EREVs, we will be going down that route with technology," Farley said at a press conference ahead of the Detroit auto show. “EREV is a very fundamental technology for Ford."

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