Lucid Motors CEO blasts Elon Musk for Tesla "revisionism"
- Joann Muller, author of Axios What's Next
Former top Tesla engineer Peter Rawlinson — now CEO of rival Lucid Motors — tells "Axios on HBO" that Elon Musk is guilty of “historical revisionism” for downplaying Rawlinson's role in developing the Tesla Model S.
Why it matters: The rivalry between the two companies is intense. Tesla has dominated the global market for electric vehicles for a decade. But Lucid's debut model, with an unprecedented 520-mile driving range, represents a real threat.
Driving the news: Rawlinson tells "Axios on HBO" that Musk asked him to be chief engineer for the Model S and "I took that from a clean sheet with just about six engineers to the car that you know and love today."
- He left Tesla in 2012, he said, because his elderly mom needed him "and I had a boss that wasn't treating me too well" — refusing to elaborate.
The intrigue: In a May 3 tweet, Musk downplayed Rawlinson's role:
The bottom line: Rawlinson says he's got the business cards and the Securities and Exchange Commission documents to prove his role.
- "I think it's sort of historical revisionism, isn't it?"