GM Dismissed Tesla As ‘Engineers Playing With Laptop Batteries’

"General Motors viewed Tesla in 2009 as a "bunch of engineers playing with laptop batteries.""
https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/nikola-steve-girsky-tesla-elon-musk-gm-battery-ev-auto-2023-9?op=1

"General Motors was highly contemptuous of Tesla in 2009, says former GM executive Steve Girsky. According to Girsky, who recalled GM’s attitude towards the all-electric vehicle maker during a recent fireside chat, GM regarded Tesla as a “bunch or engineers playing with laptops” at the time. Tesla is now the biggest EV manufacturer in the world, with a market cap of $800 billion, as compared to GM’s current market cap of $45 billion."
https://gmauthority.com/blog/2023/09/gm-dismissed-tesla-as-engineers-playing-with-laptop-batteries/