Volkswagen not seeking a deal with Tesla, says CEO Herbert Diess

Volkswagen’s CEO Herbert Diess on Monday sought to quell speculation that the world’s largest automaker, which is on its way to push for mass production of electric cars, has plans to develop deeper ties with start-up rival Tesla Inc.

Diess met with Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk in Braunschweig, Germany, last week, and during his visit Volkswagen let Musk drive its new ID.3 electric car.

“Just to be clear: We just drove the ID.3 and had a chat – there is no deal/cooperation in the making,” Diess said in a post on Linkedin which included a video of the two executives driving the car on an airfield.

“Thanks for the visit, Elon! Hope you like the video. It was great driving the ID.3 with you! You were just quite critical with the available torque at higher speed. I told you: “Yes, we are on the runway – but no need for take off – its not a sports car.”