Sergio Marchionne, Takeshi Uchiyamada, Diarmuid O'Connell.

“If [Tesla CEO Elon Musk] can show me that the car will be profitable at that price, I will copy the formula, add the Italian design flair and get it to the market within 12 months.”

Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne isn’t opposed to building a compact electric car if it makes sound business sense. 400,000 Tesla Model 3 have already been reserved, but Marchionne wants to wait until the cars are delivered before being convinced.
europe.autonews.com

“It did not run. We applied all the engineering brain power we had. After 49 days, the day before Christmas, it finally ran. But only for 500 meters. We did not give up. Two years later in 1997, we introduced a breakthrough hybrid-powered vehicle called the Prius.”

Toyota chairman Takeshi Uchiyamada is known as the father of the Prius hybrid. Toyota is still struggling to push hydrogen cars, and Uchiyamada is reminded of the many troubles his Prius hybrid initially faced.
usatoday.com

“It’s a success as far as it is right now. The real success will be delivering a great product at the volumes are possible and necessary.”

The Tesla Model 3 may be making huge waves, but the real test, says Diarmuid O’Connell, Tesla Vice President of Business Development, is yet to come.
electrek.co (with video)