Volkswagen Group boss Herbert Diess has said he would not consider buying a stake in Tesla.

Recent reports suggested that VW was eyeing an investment in the groundbreaking but controversial American EV firm.

Speaking at the Frankfurt motor show, where the firm launched the ID 3 electric hatch, Diess said: “No, I wouldn’t consider a stake in Tesla. I really admire what it has done, which is also helpful for us because it is really pushing us [in electrification]. The cars are nice and I like to drive them.

“It’s a brave move to come into automotive because it means such high investment.”

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He added: “I wouldn’t buy a stake because I think all they are doing, we can do.”

Diess said that he believed VW will utlimate have an edge over Tesla: “In the long run, I think we might have a bit of an advantage because of scale. On the hardware side, there is probably not so big a difference because they are are also have a dedicated electric platform and they’re quite big already for an EV manufacturer.

“But when it comes to the next big thing, which is software, Tesla is strong in software – but software really is a volume game. If you do software, you have to use ten million devices, not one million.”

When asked if Diess would consider buying Tesla if it became bankrupt, he commented: “I don’t believe that [bankruptcy will happen]. I like Elon quite a lot and I wish him all the best. Tesla is close now to profitability. Probably the biggest challenge is the stretch in category class because the investment is so big.”

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