Maserati Engineering Boss Thinks Teslas Are Crap

Maserati GranTurismo Sport (Credit: Maserati )

It seems like everyone is rushing to churn out a “Tesla fighter” or an EV aimed directly at proving they can beat the California automaker. Except Maserati. Roberto Fedeli, the engineering boss for Maserati, recently showed his despise for Tesla in an interview with Car and Driver.

While Fedeli admitted Maserati is working on an all-electric model, he made it clear the Model S won’t be used as the benchmark. He went on to explain that he thinks the build quality of Teslas matches what German automakers were churning out back in the 1970s.

So there you have it.

Of course, Tesla fans are going ape on Maserati. The Italians live in a bit of a glass house, making throwing stones probably not a good idea. But Fedeli said it and sounds like he meant every word.

To be honest, other big guns at various automakers have said similar things. And nobody can honestly say that sitting in a Mercedes is the same as sitting in a Tesla, no matter how enthusiastic they are about electrification. Tesla interiors are woefully cobbled together for the price of the cars, thanks to the expense and complexity of the electric powertrain. So Fedeli might have a point.

That Maserati EV is supposed to be coming in 2019. We’ll see when it’s revealed how good of a job the Italians do, because after these comments expectations have been raised.