Rumors that Tesla has made a major acquisition have been doing the rounds on the internet for quite some time now. However, billionaire Elon Musk did not buy the car manufacturing company 'Ford'. A Ford spokesperson has confirmed that the news of the company being bought is completely false.
Some of the rumors circulating the internet are again generated by AI or artificial intelligence. Similar to other platforms, fake news and rumors about Tesla were being circulated on YouTube.
The fake information is believed to have been spread by one of the YouTube channels 'Elon Musk Rewind' and 'Voyager'. However, the 'Description Box' of the 'Elon Musk Rewind' channel's video says – 'The video contains information that is not true'.
But other channels claim that Tesla is buying Jeep-maker Stellantis and will launch a hydrogen-powered vehicle. The channels create these fake news to increase the views by capitalizing on the popularity of the mask.
Besides Tesla, Elon Musk owns several companies. They are—spacecraft manufacturing company SpaceX, social media company X (formerly Twitter), artificial intelligence startup XAI, Motishke chip placement company Neuralink.
Musk is expected to benefit greatly from Elon Musk's endorsement and investment in Donald Trump's presidential campaign. Tesla's share price also rose after the election. Last week, Tesla's market cap exceeded $1 trillion. Apart from this, the successful launch and return of SpaceX's Starship rocket is also good news for Musk.
But buying Twitter and buying Ford are two completely different things. That's because Ford's electric car models, the F150 Lightning and the Mustang McE, are competing with Tesla's popular Model Y and Cyber Trucks. In addition, while Tesla still dominates the manufacturing of EV charging stations, other companies are also starting to do so. While this creates benefits for EV users, Tesla faces new challenges.
So Elon Musk's acquisition of the Ford company would have reduced Musk's competition in the electric car market.
References: Quartz
