Ford poaches former Tesla engineering director Alan Clarke

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. has hired a former Tesla Inc. engineering director as it looks to challenge the Elon Musk-led company for EV leadership in the coming years.

Alan Clarke, a 12-year Tesla veteran who most recently worked as director of new programs engineering, joined Ford in January in advanced EV development, according to his LinkedIn profile. He revealed the move on LinkedIn earlier this week.

The hiring is the latest get for CEO Jim Farley, who has made strides convincing Wall Street the automaker can compete with Tesla and others in EVs and technology. It follows Ford's hiring of Doug Field, a former Tesla engineer and head of Apple's car program, to become its chief advanced technology and embedded systems officer.

Clarke will report to Field, according to a Ford spokesman who confirmed the hire.

The automaker is ramping up its pivot to electric vehicles, vowing to produce 600,000 EVs within about 24 months and eventually challenge Tesla for the title of top-producing EV maker.

Since Farley took over in October 2020, Ford has increased its spending on EVs and plans to invest $30 billion in battery-powered products by 2025.

Earlier this week it began shipping E-Transit vans to customers and plans to launch the F-150 Lightning this spring.

"We're done with incremental change," Farley said on an earnings call last week. "We have a clear plan, a bias for action and a whatever-it-takes mindset."