Ford and Rivian have made Time Magazine’s list of 100 Most Influential Companies, while automaker Tesla was left completely out, causing confusion among fans of the Elon Musk’s brand.
Each winner on the list is highlighted for a specific accomplishment. For Ford, it was its efforts to electrify all of its products, including the best-selling F-150. Ford has announced billions in spending for EV and battery production, and demand for the all-electric F-150 sent its brand value over $100 Billion back in January.
Ford CEO Jim Farley spread his excitement on Twitter, saying “It’s an exciting time for Ford & the entire auto industry.”
I'm glad to see @Ford on @TIME's list of the most influential companies. It's an exciting time for Ford & the entire auto industry. Congratulations and thank you to our employees around the world who are working to create positive change for the future! https://t.co/Yc4HLxnMKa
— Jim Farley (@jimfarley98) March 30, 2022
While Rivian delivered less than 1,000 examples of its R1T pickup, it has received 83,000 preorders. The brand is less focused on the impending competition with Ford’s electric truck, and more focused on building enough EVs to go around. The brand hopes to ramp up production to 25,000 units per year, and it doesn’t hurt that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has ordered a few for his own personal use.
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In addition to Ford and Rivian, Chinese automaker BYD also made the list. Although not exactly a household name, BYD is known for building rechargeable batteries as well as electric cars in China.
Ford and BYD are the only automakers in the Titan category of the list, while Rivian falls into the innovator category. The Titan category includes other brands such as Amazon, Pfizer, Apple, Microsoft, Netflix, Walmart, and Disney.
$TSLA not on the Time 100 most influential company list, but $F and $RIVN are? Very sus. https://t.co/45ZGzNY0yF
— Gary Black (@garyblack00) March 30, 2022
So, what about Tesla? In contrast to Ford and Rivian’s electric pickup truck innovation, the California company has failed to produce even one production example of the Cybertruck, which was announced in 2019. While Tesla didn’t make the list, Time has recognized its CEO Elon Musk recently, naming him Person of the Year in 2021.
This is only the second annual Most Influential list, so perhaps if it was around when Tesla was a new company, it might have been included. Time’s first Most Influential List featured GM and Volkswagen in addition to BYD.
