As expected, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has fired back after Chrysler issued out a rebuttal to the electric-car manufacturer’s claim that it was the first American car company to have fully repaid its government loan.
Yesterday, Chrysler called Tesla out stating that Chrysler was actually the first U.S. automaker to pay back its loan to the government, contrary to what Tesla stated in a press release.
“As many have already noted, Chrysler is a division of Fiat, an Italian company. We specifically said first *US* company,” tweeted Musk.
SEE ALSO: Chrysler Calls BS: Refutes Tesla Loan Claim
Of course Chrysler’s Gualberto Ranieri responded that Chrysler Group LLC had repaid everything that it owed and at the time of the May 2011 repayment, Fiat held less than 50 percent of Chrysler. It’s hard to side with either automaker on the issue of course since it gets down to technicalities, but let’s remember that Chrysler repaid money used to bail out, while Tesla repaid a loan used to further technology.
Discuss this story at Tesla-Buzz.com