Daimler's declaration of war on Tesla: With a range of 770 kilometers and autonomous driving, the Stuttgart-based company is challenging the U.S. company

• At Daimler's annual meeting on Wednesday, CEO Ola Källenius announced a slew of big news that had little to do with the dividends and business figures that such occasions are usually all about.
• The Stuttgart-based company's new EQS electric model will have a range of 770 kilometers and will be able to recharge enough electricity for 300 kilometers within 15 minutes, he said. The new S-Class will also be able to park fully automatically, Källenius announced.
• In addition, Mercedes is electrifying its entire model range and has set itself the goal of becoming carbon-neutral well before 2039, the Daimler CEO said.
• See more stories on Insider's business page.

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"We are not afraid of a challenge, we are the challengers." With this sentence, Daimler CEO Ola Källenius concluded his speech at the group's annual general meeting on Wednesday at noon.

It seems as if Källenius is addressing these words directly to Elon Musk and his car company Tesla, which is rapidly building a factory in Daimler's front yard in Grünheide to supply the global market with e-cars from Brandenburg.

Källenius and his board members have had to listen to a lot of criticism in recent months. The electrification of models, digitalization, climate neutrality, autonomous driving: everything is progressing too slowly at the Stuttgart-based company. On Wednesday at the latest, the Daimler boss countered this criticism not just with warm words, but with facts and tangible announcements.

The EQS clearly beats the Tesla Model S in terms of range.

He provided a brief glimpse under the hood of the new EQS e-model that will celebrate its world premiere in two weeks. The Mercedes will boast a range of 770 kilometers and will be able to charge 300 kilometers of range within fifteen minutes. At the same time, the car manages a drag of just 0.2 CW. Compared to the Tesla Model S Plaid, which has a range of 628 kilometers according to the manufacturer, the EQS performs significantly better.

But Daimler doesn't just want to beat Tesla in terms of e-car range. Källenius announced on Wednesday that the new S-Class is capable of driving up to Level 3 Autonomous as standard and even drives completely autonomously in parking situations. Translated, this means that you can put your S-Class in front of a parking garage and it will drive itself in, park - and then drive itself out again and stop in front of the parking garage. Tesla is still a long way from Level 4, according to information from Business Insider, and is implementing many new Level 3 features into Tesla's software.

And the Daimler boss had two other important announcements to make: The Stuttgart-based company wants to become carbon-neutral well before 2039, the date actually envisioned. Källenius did not give details on Wednesday but said that the key dates will follow quickly.

In addition, the Stuttgart company would electrify its entire model range. So since the plenary meeting at the latest, it has been clear that Daimler is pulling out all the stops to catch up with Tesla, currently the most valuable car company in the world. To use Källenius' words: Daimler, the challenger.