Shelby Reveals First EV Model, Seems Scared Of Public Reaction

At first I thought this was a joke, then I learned it was real and still a joke.

About a year ago, I was speaking with someone who’s a lifelong fan and serial owner of Mustangs, particularly the many impressive Shelby iterations. I jokingly told this enthusiast friend of mine that with the Mach-E stealing the pony badge, it was only a matter of time before Shelby would get in on the action. My joke that wasn’t entirely a joke really riled this friend who thought I was being unnecessarily cruel. Now he, along with many other diehard Shelby fans, is seeing red.

Learn about the completely insane Ford Mustang rumor going around here.

After all, there’s nothing truly special about the Shelby Mach-E. It’s just a cosmetic package for the Ford EV, not a performance upgrade, constituting an absolute insult to Carroll’s legacy and a blatant cash grab. Oh and it makes fake exhaust noises, the most ridiculous new trend in electric “muscle cars.”

Sure, there are enthusiasts celebrating the Shelby Mach-E announcement right along with all the corporate media cheerleaders. But if you think for one moment they’re in the majority, Shelby American’s own actions indicate the company knew this move would be wildly unpopular among rank and file enthusiasts it’s depended on financially for decades.

Why else would the official Shelby American Facebook and Instagram accounts shut off public commenting on all posts about the new Mach-E? If people inside the company thought its customers at large supported this new EV model, they wouldn’t have taken that pre-emptive move. I suspect some serious thought and possibly market research went into the decision, yet they still pressed forward with the hope everyone would simmer down and keep supporting the comapny.

Further evidence Shelby American knew this move would rile its hardcore muscle car enthusiasts is the fact you can’t buy the first Shelby EV in North America, its core market. Instead, you must live in Europe to have a crack at this bloated pony. Now why would that be?

It’s almost like Shelby is trying to get people used to the “inevitable” reality that it’s going all-electric. Instead of just pulling off the band-aid and getting things over with immediately and openly, it’s probably going to do the salami slicing technique, hoping its movements toward electrification will be so gradual you won’t notice. Now I know you’re not that dumb and unaware, but not everyone thinks that about gearheads.

What Shelby American seemed to not calculate for is how turning its back on what made it great and the American enthusiasts who have unwaveringly supported it from day one could forever tarnish the brand. This will be especially true if it continues making these sorts of weird moves. People are starting to really resent the push to force them into buying EVs, especially hardcore enthusiasts. Shelby and everyone else in the industry knows this, yet they want to also be in the good graces of governments and the cool globalists club. For that they can reap the consequences of their actions while trying to hide in their towers from public feedback.

Now check out the reveal video for the Shelby Mach-E and note if you go to YouTube public comments are turned on. What you choose to do with that information is entirely up to you.