Up until yesterday, there was only one major player in America's fully-electric SUV market, but now Ford is looking to take on the Tesla Model X with their controversial Mustang Mach-E.
While most CEOs wouldn't be a fan of another manufacturer stepping into their territory, Tesla CEO Elon Musk seemed more than happy to welcome the blue oval in the electric segment, and is keen to see others follow suit.
Congratulations on the Mach E! Sustainable/electric cars are the future!! Excited to see this announcement from Ford, as it will encourage other carmakers to go electric too.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 18, 2019
READ MORE: Ford reveals the fully-electric Mustang Mach-E SUV
Elon's stance on the matter might be unusual, but it lines up with Tesla's company mission perfectly; “to accelerate the advent of sustainable transport by bringing compelling mass market electric cars to market as soon as possible.”
In the past, we have seen other automakers to a swipe at the electric market, while their main focus remains on selling gas-powered cars. This has resulted in EVs that aren't up to Tesla's standards, and haven't sold well.
It looks like Ford doesn't want to go down that path, and looks to be following in Tesla's footsteps perfectly with the Mach-E. But unlike Tesla, the Mach-E will be exclusively built outside the US, at a Mexican factory.
While the Mach-E may look like a carbon copy of Elon's upcoming Model Y, it's good to see a traditional manufacturer taking note of what works in the EV world, and hopefully this will translate into healthy sales numbers.
We are still waiting on official word from Ford New Zealand about the Mustang Mach-E's availability down here, but according to Australian reports, it doesn't sound like we're part of the plan.
“We have no specific Australia/New Zealand news with regards to Mach-E. We do however look forward to starting our electrification journey with the Escape PHEV next year,” the company said.