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Hey, Toyota: Tesla may not have a ‘Chef,’ but at least their food doesn’t suck
At some point or another, most of us have cooked a meal for others. If you did a reasonably good job making a meal, someone may say: “You should have been a Chef.” Whether it is a hobby in your spare time or you spent multiple years at a culinary institute, cooking is one of the few things in life that everyone has to experience at some point or another. It could be stovetop ramen or a fine piece of beef with a slice of foie gras. Whatever it is, you do it to your liking, and you usually think you did it well.
However, having the title of “Chef” does not insinuate that someone is good at cooking. Some people study things for several years, and they unfortunately just do not have a knack for it. Most of us have gone to fine dining restaurants at some point or another in our lives, and we prepare ourselves to fully commit and make ourselves vulnerable to the culinary works of whoever is commanding the kitchen that evening. But sometimes, the food simply isn’t to our liking, and you say to yourself, “How could this person ever be considered a Chef?”
Toyota seems to forget that “Chef” doesn’t mean you can cook. In this case, being the head of an automotive company doesn’t mean you’re innovative, good for the job, or even right for the job.
Yet, Akio Toyoda, the President of Toyota, runs his grandfather’s business and was bold enough to cast some stones at Tesla and Elon Musk.
Toyota CEO attempts Tesla analogy and fails: ‘They aren’t really making something that’s real’
“We are losing when it comes to the share price. But when it comes to products, we have a full menu that will be chosen by customers,” Toyoda said. “They aren’t really making something that’s real, people are just buying the recipe. We have the kitchen and chef, and we make real food.”
As if comparing cooking to automotive wasn’t confusing enough, Toyoda actually thinks that Tesla is inferior to his company, even though they don’t have a pure EV in their lineup. They do have a Plug-In Hybrid EV with the Prius PHEV. Still, the company didn’t make any pure EVs because it believes hybrids are “a better bridge between ICE vehicles and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles,” according to a 2019 article from Car and Driver.
Even still, Toyoda’s apparent attempt to derail and discredit Tesla’s automotive domination through 2020 was weak.
Your meal this evening will be prepared by Chef Elon Musk
Elon Musk probably doesn’t cook very often for the family. He’s spending his many waking hours trying to figure out what moves will take Tesla to the next level. He likely doesn’t have time to whip up a full dinner for his kids or his partner, Grimes.
Instead, Musk’s full focus is on Tesla. Because of his full-fledged obsession with “accelerating the world’s transition to sustainable energy,” Musk has often said that Tesla’s real competitors are those who refuse to adapt to electrification, and not entities who are embracing the EV revolution, like Volkswagen, for example. Even still, Musk hasn’t gone out of his way to attack CEOs or Presidents of automotive companies that are not willing to build an EV, or a lineup of them, for that matter. Instead, his efforts are solving manufacturing, making cars more affordable, and ensuring the company’s customers that his products are fun to operate.
The Appetizer
Toyota once had an electric car: The RAV4 EV, but it was discontinued in 2014, according to its website. However, the brand has stated that it will produce six new EV models that will launch over the next five years, citing “global demand” as the reason for the embrace of sustainable transportation. However, unveiling three vehicles that are eerily similar to the Smart Car wasn’t exactly what consumers had planned. Therefore, the company will begin to go after the U.S., Europe, and China: three locations with an unquenchable thirst for electric transportation. They will likely enter China before any other market.
The thing is, Toyota doesn’t seem to have a plan, as of now, to transition to a fully electric lineup. Perhaps this is what Toyoda meant by “we have a full menu.”
Like the fiery and passionate Gordon Ramsay, some chefs would say having a “full menu” is not necessarily a good thing. Having a concentration and focusing on one style of food is advantageous for not only the chefs but also for the customers.
Cars are no different. Trying to build a lineup of ICE cars, PHEVs, Hybrids, EVs, and Hydrogen Fuel Cell vehicles will have Toyota in a scenario where they are trying to balance so many different power sources. If Toyota plans to attack each subsection of a vehicle with 5-7 models, there is going to be a lot of different strategies going on, and it could spell confusion. Floyd Mayweather once used this to insult SportsCenter anchor Brian Kenny, stating he was “a Man of many traits, but a Master of Nothing.”
It might be easier to focus on one style of car, maybe two. Not five, Toyota.
The Main Course
Tesla and Toyota both have a track record of success. While Toyota’s is longer and more reputable than Tesla’s, just because of a longer existence, Tesla has influenced an entire industry to transition from what they are familiar with. Many car companies focused on creating fast, efficient, and affordable passenger cars powered by fossil fuels. Now that Tesla has come along and proven that EVs are fun, affordable, and good for the environment, massive brands like Ford and Volkswagen are committing themselves to electrification in the future. While some have more ambitious plans than others, there is nothing wrong with taking your time. As long as a company plans to transition away from gas and diesel and into EVs, it will have some backing from sustainability supporters.
The Dessert
Unlike most desserts, this one isn’t going to be very sweet.
Listening to the head of one of the largest car companies in the world cast stones at Tesla and Elon Musk is quite shocking. “They wanna see you do good, but never better than them” comes to mind here. At one point, Toyoda may have been hoping Tesla could introduce an EV that would give the company some inspiration. In fact, as a company, Toyota may have wanted someone else to dive into EVs so that it could learn from someone else’s mistakes. However, Tesla has had plenty of those mistakes, but its resiliency, which was highlighted by Elon Musk in a series of Tweets earlier this week, has made it the most valuable car company in the world.
Who is Number 2? Toyota.
Check, please.
News
Tesla Europe builds momentum with expanding FSD demos and regional launches
Needless to say, it appears that Tesla is putting in some serious effort into boosting sales in Europe this year.
Tesla has been notably active across Europe in recent weeks, expanding its Full Self-Driving (Supervised) ride-along program, entering a new market, and showcasing its newest vehicles across multiple regions.
Needless to say, it appears that Tesla is putting in some serious effort into boosting sales in Europe this year.
Tesla Europe recently announced the expansion of its FSD (Supervised) ride-along experiences, inviting the public to experience the system on local roads. Initially available in Italy, France, and Germany when it launched, the program has now expanded to Hungary, Finland, and Spain.
The ride-along program allows participants to ride in the passenger seat and observe how FSD Supervised handles real-world traffic scenarios, including dense urban driving and other challenging conditions. Tesla has positioned the initiative as a way to familiarize European drivers and regulators with the system’s capabilities in everyday use. The program has received positive reviews so far, with many being impressed by FSD’s real-world capabilities.
Tesla also recently launched operations in Slovakia with a pop-up store and multi-day public event in Bratislava, as noted in an EV Wire report. The launch, held from January 16 to 18 at the Eurovea Mall Promenade, featured test drives, vehicle displays, including the Cybertruck, as well as family-focused attractions such as a mini-Tesla racetrack.
Local observers noted that Tesla Optimus was also shown at the event, while the Tesla Owners Slovakia club welcomed the brand with a coordinated light show near the Slovak National Theater. Tesla Europe later shared its appreciation for Slovakia in a post on its official social media account on X, stating, “Thanks, Slovakia, for the amazing last 3 days & for giving us such a warm welcome!”
Tesla’s Slovakia entry follows a familiar pattern used by the company in other European markets. Tesla opened a pop-up store in Bratislava as an initial step, with plans for a permanent showroom and a potential service center at a renovated site previously occupied by a Jeep and Dodge dealership. Tesla has used a similar approach in markets such as Czechia and Lithuania, where permanent facilities followed within a few months of pop-up launches.
Slovakia already has six Supercharging sites totaling 46 Superchargers, including two locations in Bratislava, providing early infrastructure support for Tesla owners. Tesla staff program manager Supratik Saha described the Slovakia launch as a strategic expansion in the heart of the EU, citing the country’s strong automotive manufacturing base and appetite for advanced technology.
Beyond the EU, the company also marked another milestone with the first Cybertruck deliveries in the United Arab Emirates, signaling continued geographic expansion for Tesla’s newest vehicle. Just like Tesla Slovakia, the Cybertruck also received a warm welcome from the UAE’s EV community.
News
Tesla Sweden maintains Trelleborg port deal despite union blockade
As noted in a report from Dagens Arbete (DA), Tesla was able to maintain its storage agreement with the Port of Trelleborg.
Tesla Sweden is still storing vehicles at the Port of Trelleborg despite the ongoing blockades against the company from the country’s labor unions.
Tesla still at Port of Trelleborg
As noted in a report from Dagens Arbete (DA), Tesla was able to maintain its storage agreement with the Port of Trelleborg. This allows the company to keep vehicles at the port while imports into Sweden continue. This was despite the Transport Workers’ Union’s blockade, which was aimed at halting the loading and unloading of Tesla vehicles in the area.
Local union leader Jörgen Wärja, chairman of Transport and an employee representative on the port company’s board, confirmed that the agreement was still active. “The agreement has not been terminated. You want to have the money instead of having empty warehouses. I understand the reason, but I do not support it,” Wärja said
The local union leader also noted that he visited Tesla’s storage area earlier this week. “There were a lot of cars. I was surprised that there were so many, actually,” he said.
Tesla had been able to bring vehicles into Sweden via passenger ferries at Trelleborg, a method that unions said allowed the company to bypass the blockade, DA noted. According to estimates from IF Metall, the workaround enabled Tesla to deliver thousands of cars to Sweden each year.
Port defends decision
The Port of Trelleborg did not issue a comment on its current agreement with Tesla, but said it had complied with union sympathy measures. Documents reviewed by Swedish media showed that the contract with Tesla was being extended in six-month intervals.
Port CEO Malin Collin noted that the port would not discuss individual customer arrangements. “We do not go into details regarding any customer agreements. We have continuous dialogue with potential tenants, and this is not unique to any location,” Collin wrote in an email.
The CEO added that the port was following legal requirements related to the labor dispute. “We have taken note of the Transport Workers’ Union’s decision on sympathy measures and are of course following applicable legislation and the requirements placed on us as employers,” Collin said.
Jörgen Wärja, for his part, stated that the issue was not whether Tesla’s imports into Sweden could be fully stopped, but whether the port should provide logistical support to the electric vehicle maker during an active conflict. “The port shouldn’t have anything to do with Tesla at all, we believe,” he said. “It’s purely moral. Whether you honor a conflict or not. If you say you support Transport’s sympathetic actions against Tesla, it becomes a double standard.”
Elon Musk
Elon Musk shares insights on SpaceX and Tesla’s potential scale
In a pair of recent posts on X, Musk argued that both companies operate in domains where growth is not linear, but exponential.
Elon Musk outlined why he believes Tesla and SpaceX ultimately dwarf their competitors, pointing to autonomy, robotics, and space-based energy as forces that fundamentally reshape economic scale.
In a pair of recent posts on X, Musk argued that both companies operate in domains where growth is not linear, but exponential.
Space-based energy
In a response to a user on X who observed that SpaceX has a larger valuation than all six US defense companies combined, Musk explained that space-based industries will eventually surpass the total economic value of Earth. He noted that space allows humanity to harness roughly 100,000 times more energy than Earth currently uses, while still consuming less than a millionth of the Sun’s total energy output.
That level of available energy should enable the emergence and development of industries that are simply not possible within Earth’s physical and environmental constraints. Continuous solar exposure in space, as per Musk’s comment, removes limitations imposed by atmosphere, weather, and land availability.
Autonomy and robots
In a follow-up post, Elon Musk explaned that “due to autonomy, Tesla is worth more than the rest of the auto industry.” Musk added that this assessment does not yet account for Optimus, Tesla’s humanoid robot. As per the CEO, once Optimus reaches scaled production, it could increase Earth’s gross domestic product by an order of magnitude, ultimately paving the way for sustainable abundance.
Even before the advent of Optimus, however, Tesla’s autonomous driving system already gives vehicles the option to become revenue-generating assets through services like the Tesla Robotaxi network. Tesla’s autonomous efforts seem to be on the verge of paying off, as services like the Robotaxi network have already been launched in its initial stages in Austin and the Bay Area.
Tesla Europe builds momentum with expanding FSD demos and regional launches
Tesla Sweden maintains Trelleborg port deal despite union blockade
