Industry titans Elon Musk and Ratan Tata have unquestionably made a lasting impression on their respective fields. The Chairman-Emeritus of Tata Sons is an exceptional industrialist and philanthropist with a golden heart who is known to have overcome numerous battles. His industry leadership style resonated with people all throughout the world, even prompting Musk to refer to him as a “gentleman and a scholar”. The Tesla CEO’s 2009 interview, in which he discussed his opinions on Tata and his Nano project, is being widely circulated on social media. The goal of the car was to provide a safe and affordable vehicle for consumers.
American journalist Charlie Rose questioned Musk about Tata and his plan to launch a low-cost vehicle in the Indian market during the interview. “Take for a moment Ratan Tata, what he’s doing in India — developing a little sedan for $2300. Where do you put that in the whole equation of where the future of cars is?” Musk was questioned by Rose.
Notably, the interview was conducted months after Tata Motors introduced the Nano at Rs 1 lakh in India. The now-richest man in the world complimented Tata but expressed scepticism regarding Tata Nano. “I think it’s a good idea to have affordable cars, but I think the problem with something like the Nano … I wouldn’t say problem because I think, by the way, it is probably a great idea and Ratan is a gentleman and scholar,” Musk replied.
He however continued by explaining that it would eventually get “challenging”. He believed that the cost of buying a car was far less of a concern as gasoline prices grew over the expense of maintaining the vehicle.
He fulfilled his promise to build the world's cheapest car.– Ratan Tata wanted to build a car, which the middle class of India could afford and so he delivered on his promise and launched Tata Nano for just $1,200 (₹1 lakh) in 2008.
– @ElonMusk also shared his views on the… pic.twitter.com/QqTY5KuQLK
— Nico Garcia (@nicogarcia) August 26, 2024
The interview first appeared online last week as one component of a broader X thread that addressed Tata Nano’s decline.
In any case, Tata stopped producing the Nano vehicle in 2019, therefore Musk was correct. As keeping an automobile became more inexpensive than purchasing one, the growing cost of gasoline contributed significantly to Nano’s decline.
As per The Economic Times, Tata stated in July 2015 that one of his most significant errors had been marketing the Nano car being the cheapest option rather than the “most affordable,” which is precisely what the firm had intended to achieve in the first place.
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