Ford CEO took apart Tesla cars and Chinese EVs and it led him to make a startling discovery

When Ford CEO Jim Farley took apart Tesla and Chinese EVs, he had no idea what he was about to find.

In late 2025, Farley stripped down the two types of electric car to their nuts and bolts as he attempted to see how the two EVs compared and how they were built.

But he wasn’t ready for the startling discovery he made, and it’s one that really took the Ford boss by surprise.

In fact, such was the shock that he said it made him revise the entire EV strategy for the Blue Oval.

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What Jim Farley discovered by stripping down a Tesla Model 3

The strip down of the Tesla Model 3 EV was very eye-opening for Farley.

This was far more than just a PR stunt for the Blue Oval.

Farley stated this was basically an audit of Ford’s own work and how they could improve.

“When we took apart the first Model 3 Tesla … it was shocking what we found,” he said on the Office Hours: Business Edition podcast.

What he found out was that the Ford Mustang Mach-E had around a mile more electrical wiring than the Tesla.

That added more weight to the Mach-E, and made it overly complex versus its rival.

“I was very humbled,” he added.

With that extra weight came the need for a bigger and more expensive battery for the Mustang Mach-E.

But the teardown didn’t just stop at the Model 3.

The Ford Boss then got his hands on a Chinese EV, with similarly humbling results.

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This is what the Ford CEO discovered with the Chinese EVs

The Ford CEO is a lifelong automotive enthusiast.

So stripping down the Chinese EVs was a fascinating experience, as well as an important fact-finding mission, having described some of the Chinese cars as ‘far superior.’

Brands like BYD, Xiaomi, and others could truly dominate the global market in the future.

They already account for at least half the new cars sold in China.

Stripping down the Chinese EVs was just as eye-opening as it was with the Tesla.

“When we took them apart, it was shocking what we found,” said Farley.

The CEO even revealed he’d using a Xiaomi SU7 EV as his daily driver, and he was full of praise for it.

Finding out how much heavier and more complex the Blue Oval’s cars were was quite the shock for Farley.

Such was the impact the teardown had, Jim Farley decided to create a standalone division at Ford, Model E.

The Blue Oval had separated its electric car operations into its own arm, thanks to what the CEO had found.

More than just humbling Ford, it had potentially rewritten the future for the whole company.

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