AUTONEWS

Mercedes and Tesla closer, according to Dieter Zetsche

Mercedes and Tesla have more in common than many may think. Elon Musk has already admitted that German investment in the US brand in 2009, in the midst of the world crisis, when they bought about 9% for $ 50 million, helped save the company three years before the first Model S. In that period , in addition to becoming a shareholder, Mercedes was also a customer, as it commissioned Tesla to electrify Smart and Class B.The collaboration between the two manufacturers would end in 2014, with Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche stating that he is not at all sorry when they decided to sell the stake in Tesla that year, as the operation allowed a $ 780 million , a profit of 730 million in just five years. This value would continue to increase if the Germans extended the investment, taking into account Tesla's valuation on the stock exchange. If in the Initial Public Offering of Tesla, in 2010, the shares started at $ 20, in 2014 it was at $ 176, now around $ 347 per share.Zetsche, in an interview with the Polish newspaper Rzeczporpolita, admitted that he does not exclude re-collaborating in the future with the American brand, which in October already managed to sell more vehicles in the US than Mercedes, at a time when the German brand prepares to launch the its first electric vehicle of the new wave, the Mercedes EQC.