Business | Schumpeter

What Tesla and other carmakers can learn from Ford

The 120-year-old company shows the importance of knowing your limits

Jun 13th 2023

JIM FARLEY relishes a challenge. In January Ford’s boss, an enthusiastic amateur racer of historic cars, made his professional debut on the track in a powerful modern Mustang GT-4. Yet the risks of tearing round a circuit are nothing compared with manoeuvring Ford, which on June 16th will celebrate 120 years in business, through a new age of carmaking. Ford, like other legacy firms, is trying to reinvent itself to compete in an era of electrification and software-defined vehicles. It faces established rivals as well as newcomers, foremost among them Elon Musk’s Tesla. Amid this packed grid, Mr Farley is charting a singular racing line.

This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline “Ford’s focus”