Is Volkswagen Buying Tesla? The Truth About The Rumors

While rumors have been circulating about Volkswagen’s (VOW3.DE) interest in buying Tesla (TSLA), the company’s CEO Herbert Diess has finally cleared up the speculation.

At the International Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany, Diess addressed the rumors, making it clear that Volkswagen had no interest in buying Tesla or a stake in the electric car company but rather competing with it, the Observer reported.

“I wouldn’t consider a stake in Tesla,” Diess said on Wednesday. “I wouldn’t buy a stake because I think all they are doing, we can do.”

Diess’ remarks rang true especially when Volkswagens debuted two electric vehicles at the auto show, the Porsche Taycan and Volkswagen ID.3, that stood in the same classes as Tesla’s Model S and Model 3, respectively.

Diess, however, said he admired Tesla as a company and does enjoy driving its cars, but said he didn’t see the company as a threat to Volkswagen as the automakers differ in size, the news outlet said. He also reportedly acknowledged that Tesla is a leader in electric vehicle technology, which may have been where the rumor of a merger originated.

“In the long run, I think we might have a bit of an advantage because of scale,” Diess said. “On the hardware side, there is probably not so big a difference because they also have a dedicated electric platform and they’re quite big already for an EV manufacturer.”

Shares of Volkswagen stock were up 0.86 percent as of 2:39 p.m. ET on Thursday while shares of Tesla stock were up 0.14 percent at the same time.