For Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the matter is clear anyway: He has repeatedly called the generation of electricity from hydrogen on board cars in a complex fuel cell nonsensical and has not saved on ridicule. So he called fuel cells in English instead of “fuel cells” as “fool cells” (idiot cells) and the work on them as a fruitless effort. In a speech in Germany, the Tesla boss even described her in 2013 simply as “bullshit”, meaning complete nonsense.
BMW insists on hydrogen future
Musk’s opinion has been firmly established for many years, and Volkswagen, the largest German car company, has since joined it. According to the head of development, there is now only preparatory research for hydrogen cars at Audi, but otherwise the focus is on “battery-electric cars for the masses”.
BMW, on the other hand, also wants to launch electric cars, but unlike Tesla and VW, it is going to use platforms that can accommodate different drives. Hydrogen is not one of them, but the company still insists that fuel cells also have a future in cars: “In the long term, the hydrogen fuel cell drive can become a fourth pillar in our drive portfolio”, the BMW press release said at the end of March. Development chief Klaus Fröhlich quotes.
Daimler changes on the Tesla side
Unlike Volkswagen, BMW was openly against the assessment of the Tesla boss, while Daimler seemed to be somewhere in between. Unlike the BMW, the EQC is already a new-generation electric car. At the end of 2018, however, the GLC Fuel Cell also came on the market, if only for selected customers.
But that’s now the end: As Daimler’s truck boss Daum announced on request, the production of the fuel cell car is ending these days, and hydrogen successors are currently not planned for cars. Because in this area the weight is so low and the distances are so short that batteries are the better solution.
Tesla Semi could eliminate doubts
BMW is now alone with its fuel cell plans for cars among the three German car groups – and otherwise gives the impression that they least believe in pure battery cars. In contrast, Daimler also relies on hydrogen for heavy trucks, as was confirmed when the collaboration with Volvo was announced. But that too could change if Tesla brought his semi-trailer out with the Semi: So far, Daimler board member Daum has refused to believe its performance data because it allegedly violates laws of physics. But Tesla CEO Musk may convince the next skeptic with the finished product.
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