Tesla is on its way to producing the most American vehicle. The American automaker is projected to beat out the Ford F-150 for metrics that include the source of parts, assembly and the point of sale.
Currently Ford holds the title of Most-American Car with its F-150. The car currently scores a 75%. Morgan Stanley projects that with the arrival of Tesla’s gigafactory and the production of its own batteries, the manufacturer will soon produce vehicles that score 90% on the American-Made index.
The gigafactory is an ambitious project from Tesla and its CEO, Elon Musk. According to the company’s own projections, it will cost approximately $6 billion and, when it reaches full operating capacity, it will produce more than the entire industry currently does, according to Quartz. The company hopes to achieve this by 2020.
Tesla is not without opposition, however. The company has been encountering a lot of resistance over its distribution model. Tesla does not participate in the dealership model for distribution that traditional (read: archaic) manufacturers do. Instead, Tesla builds showrooms where people can come and see a vehicle. They can then order a car directly from the manufacturing plant that meets their specifications. This allows Tesla to protect customers from the inflation and markup that occurs at the dealership level.
Related: Want to Buy a Tesla in New Jersey? ‘Too Bad,’ Says Chris Christie
Tesla also believes that it shouldn’t make a profit off of service and maintenance – a philosophy that isn’t shared by its competitors in the dealership arena.
Ford is trying to compete and maintain its title of Made-in-America by moving some of its truck production factories back to the U.S. from Mexico.
Either way, the competition to be the Most-American vehicle manufacturer is healthy and one that has many people excited.
Joshua is a writer and researcher with Ring of Fire. You can follow him on Twitter @Joshual33.
