It has long been known that Amazon boss Jeff Bezos and Tesla visionary Elon Musk share a friendly feud. This has become apparent in the past, particularly through their shared interest in space travel. However, with its quest for the EV market, Amazon could now become a real problem for the e-car maker.
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• Musk and Bezos known for feud
• Amazon is increasingly involved in the EV market
• Climate Pledge forces Bezos to act
What loves teasing himself
That Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos and Tesla boss Elon Musk are not the best of friends, have been made clear in the past by small verbal swipes. The two companies actually have a lot in common. Just as Bezos managed to turn a small internet bookstore that he initially controlled from his garage into the largest online mail order company in the world, Musk managed to turn electric vehicles into trend-setting lifestyle products in a world dominated by combustion engines develop. While Amazon continues to strive for new markets around the world, but is still growing slower each year, Tesla is currently breaking one milestone after the other. Most recently, the e-company made headlines that it had hit the $ 100 billion mark for the first time.
Common interest in space travel
But not only in terms of success, the two companies are in no way inferior. Musk and Bezos also share a common passion on a personal level: space travel. And in this area, the two visionaries have finally become direct competitors: Jeff Bezos with his private project Blue Origin, Elon Musk with his space company SpaceX.
Amazon’s climate pledge
But if the two companies have become rivals in this area, a completely different development Tesla boss Elon Musk should worry increasingly. Because with increasing environmental awareness and the call for more sustainability and fewer emissions, international giants like Amazon in particular are forced to act if they want to maintain their pole position in the future. Jeff Bezos recognized this and is committed to the Climate Pledge. As early as September of last year, the company announced that it plans to feed its energy consumption from renewable sources by 2030. By 2040, the multi-company should then be completely climate neutral.
Amazon becomes major customer of Tesla competitor Rivian
The first step towards achieving this goal was to order 100,000 electric delivery vans to be used from 2021. Here, Amazon boss Bezos did not resort to the market leader on the electric car-Market back, but commissioned the US e-car maker Rivian with the mega order. However, this decision was no coincidence: first, Tesla does not have a van that would meet Amazon’s needs. Regardless of this, Amazon decided early on to rely on the Tesla rival and invested several hundred million US dollars in Rivian. But Amazon is only one of the top investors: only recently did it successfully complete a financing round that raised over a billion US dollars. Among others also from Amazon, Ford and BlackRock. The Tesla competitor can rely on powerful support.
Growing influence through the Corporate Electric Vehicle Alliance
But that’s not the only foot that Amazon has set on the EV market. The online retail giant recently announced that it is now part of the Corporate Electric Vehicle Alliance, a group of companies committed to accelerating the transition to an electrified vehicle fleet. In addition to Amazon, the alliance also has other prominent members: AT&T, Siemens, DHL, among many others. The alliance is managed by the sustainability company Ceres. The high purchasing power of the flagship companies should drive the demand for different electric vehicles that can be used for commercial purposes. Since Amazon has already relied on Rivian here in the past, the e-car manufacturer could possibly get even more support from the alliance.
India is also being electrified
In addition, Amazon CEO Bezos recently traveled to India and promised to invest a billion dollars for small businesses in the growth market. In addition, Bezos informed via Twitter that it plans to use 10,000 electric rishas in India in the future.
Hey India. We’re rolling out our new fleet of electric delivery rickshaws. Fully electric. Zero carbon. #ClimatePledge pic.twitter.com/qFXdZOsY4y
– Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) January 20, 2020
Given these developments and Amazon’s growing interest in the EV market, Elon Musk should dress warmly – or quickly bury the hatchet.
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Image source: TOMMASO BODDI / AFP / Getty Images, Scott Olson / Getty Images, Kevork Djansezian / Freier Fotograf / Getty Images, Jonathan Weiss / Shutterstock.com
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