A tweet from Tesla CEO Elon Musk suggests that the company might be interested in working with Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz on an electric van. Tesla itself doesn’t make vans, not yet anyway, while the Sprinter from Mercedes is known to be a veritable workhorse. It launched the latest generation of the Sprinter in February this year. Mercedes-Benz does plan to offer electric versions of the Sprinter from next year.
Musk was responding to a tweet about the Sprinter van and said that it may be “interesting” to work with Daimler/Mercedes on an electric version of the Sprinter, adding that it’s a great van. “We will inquire,” he said. This suggests that the company will talk about a potential partnership with Daimler on an electric version of the sprinter.
Daimler hasn’t officially commented on the matter so it’s position on a collaboration with Tesla is not yet known. However, a spokesman for the auto giant told Reuters that it’s pleased by the interest that Musk has shown in the van.
Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche did tell a Polish newspaper last month that he does not rule out a partnership with Tesla at some point in the future. Some of you might remember that the two companies have had a relationship in the past. Daimler bought a 9.1 percent stake in Tesla for around $50 million in 2009 before the company went public. It later sold its stake in October 2017 for $780 million.
Maybe interesting to work with Daimler/Mercedes on an electric Sprinter. That’s a great van. We will inquire.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 19, 2018
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