Ford Spokesperson Dismisses Tesla Model Y As 'Vaporware'

A corporate communications officer for Ford Motor Co. F engaged in a rare bit of Twitter trash talking about a competitor — in this case, Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc. TSLA — referring to Tesla's Model Y as “vaporware.”

What Happened: The put-down was sparked by a tweet from Tesla investor Ross Gerber, who also is the CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management.

In a tweet Sunday morning, EST, Gerber expressed his unhappiness with Ford’s Mustang Mach E-electric vehicle to Mike Levine, Ford’s North America communications manager.

“Dear Ford,” Gerber tweeted. “It serves no value to try to compare the Mach e to a tesla. It is not and it’s not close. Also. It will serve you to not have your dealers ripping off EV customers with BS $5000 fees. You should return the money to the customers you ripped off. @mrlevine $F $TSLA.”

Levine responded to Gerber within an hour with this tweet: “Why would Ford have to compare? Don’t listen to me. Listen to the media. And return those $10K full-self driving deposits. Mach-E customers drive away with a car. Tesla customers drive off with vaporware.”

Levine’s tweet included an Associated Press article comparing the Model Y and Mach E, with the result tilting in favor of the Mach-E.

What Else Happened: Levine sent a post-script tweet addressing Gerber’s accusation of improper fees from Ford dealers.

“Any Mach-E customer who sees a dealer adding a markup can reach out to me,” he tweeted. “I’ll help them find another dealer. Good luck reaching out to Tesla to get your FSD.”

Levine then reminded Gerber — and the Twitter readers following their spat — that this tit-for-tat was occurring on what was supposed to be a day off from work.

“I have another patch of LTE,” he tweeted. “While @GerberKawasaki basks in the healthy glow of his iPad obsessing about the #MustangMachE, I’m tied up for the next few hours enjoying life. It’s Spring! Put the iPad down.”

Levine included a photo of the Mach-E driving in an off-road mountain terrain with his final tweet.

See also: How to Buy Ford Stock

Gerber did not respond directly to Levine’s comments, but spent more of his Twitter time bashing Ford in a series of tweets that included such remarks as “Ford is selling lots of gas guzzler bronco trucks with high margins and could care less about selling the Mach E” and “TESLA HAS NO COMPETITION. And legacy car companies will never compete. It’s just a dead model. The old car business dealer model. Dead.”

Photo of the Ford Mustang Mach-E courtesy Craig James/Wikimedia.