--- title: "Ford VP Throws Serious Shade at Tesla’s Lack of Quality Control" description: "In a recent interview with Autoblog, Ford VP Darren Palmer threw some serious shade at other electric car makers' quality control — likely including Tesla." date: "2020-12-28" modified: "2020-12-28" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/ford-vp-shade-tesla-quality-control" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Tesla" tags: - "ford" - "model y" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # Ford VP Throws Serious Shade at Tesla’s Lack of Quality Control ![In a recent interview with Autoblog, Ford VP Darren Palmer threw some serious shade at other electric car makers' quality control — likely including Tesla.]() *\Image: Ford\* ## Pure Shade In a recent [interview with *Autoblog*](), Ford VP Darren Palmer threw some serious shade at other electric car makers — and while he didn't mention Tesla verbatim, his comments are a shot straight across the bow at the Elon Musk-led carmaker, as [*Teslarati* reports](). "The doors fit properly, the plastics and other materials color-match, the bumpers don’t fall off, the roof doesn’t come off when you wash it, the door handles don’t get stuck in cold weather," Palmer said of Ford's electric offerings. Some of these limitations are almost certainly direct references to Tesla's less-than-stellar quality control record, according to *Teslarati*'s analysis. Tesla's vehicles have been plagued by build issues over the years. For instance, there was that one time when a brand new Model Y electric SUV [lost its roof]() on a California highway. The Model Y also ran into other embarrassing issues with its fit and finish, from badly installed seatbelts to indentations in the seats, as [*Electrek* reported]() in June. ## Fordification Ford is getting serious about electric cars. The carmaker is set to release its Mustang Mach-E crossover and the [electric variant of their best-selling F-150 pickup truck](). Palmer's remarks are also not the first time Ford's executives have lashed out at Tesla. In November, Ford’s president of the Americas and international markets Kumar Galhotra said that Ford’s upcoming all-electric F-150 pickup truck will be a "real" work truck — not a "lifestyle" truck like Tesla’s upcoming Cybertruck, as [*Teslarati* reported]() at the time. **READ MORE:** [Ford's Mustang Mach-E game plan: Build an electric car people 'want and desire']() \[*Autoblog*\] **More on Ford:** *[Ford VP Disses Cybertruck, Calling Electric F-150 a “Real” Work Truck]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()