Tesla and Ford tore apart Chinese EVs to find out how they work and keep costs down and they were both blown away with what they found
Published on Jun 18, 2026 at 1:26 PM (UTC+4)
by Ben Thompson
Last updated on Jun 18, 2026 at 2:26 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Mason Jones
The teams at Tesla and Ford both tore apart Chinese EVs to figure out how they work and keep costs down.
Chinese EVs have been all the rage in recent years, as more and more of them appear on roads around the world.
This has led to an inevitable curiosity from rival manufacturers.
When Tesla and Ford took a closer look at these increasingly popular Chinese EVs, they were stunned by what they discovered.
Everywhere you look, Chinese EVs are on the rise
It feels like roads in practically every corner of the Earth have become dominated by Chinese EVs.
That’s true in regions as far flung as South America and Europe.
If a recent shipment of BYD cars is anything to go by, Australia could also be joining this trend.
The US stands apart as an exception to this rule, although many aren’t convinced it will last in the long-term.
With this increased interest, it’s understandable that rival manufacturers will be curious to see what all the fuss is about.
Ford wanted to learn more about these cars
Ford CEO Jim Farley has admitted that he took apart both Teslas and Chinese EVs.
He was in a reflective period, wanting to know why his own company’s electric cars were costing more to build.
“When we took them apart, it was shocking what we found,” Farley said on the Office Hours: Business Edition podcast.
He realized that there were huge disparities in production efficiency and design philosophy.
This led him to establish a new division within Ford – Model E – to pursue EV innovation.
It lost Ford $5 billion in 2024, but this was something Farley anticipated.
“My ethos is to take on the hardest problems as fast as you can and do it in public because you’ll solve them quicker that way,” Farley said.
Tesla has also done its own investigation into the inner workings of Chinese EVs
It’s not just Ford that got curious about Chinese EVs – Tesla was taking notes too.
John McNeill, who served as Tesla’s president between 2015 and 2018, opened up about what the company learned from its international rivals.
The company took apart a Chinese EV during a period when it was working on the Model 3 and the Model Y.
“The Chinese engineers are really disciplined about reusing parts underneath the hood that the customer can’t see, and they save a lot of money that way,” McNeill said.
Relating it to BYD, he said the windshield wiper motor and heat pumps would be the same across all cars.
This led to the Model Y and Model 3 sharing about 75 percent of the same parts, including door handles and buttons.
This reduced production costs, which made things cheaper for customers too.
There’s a lot you can learn from your competition.
Ben joined Supercar Blondie in February 2025 after being published by international organizations including LADbible, The Sun, the New York Post, and the Daily Mail. He covers supercars, rare and collectible vehicles, aviation, luxury assets, and the fascinating people behind them. His reporting has explored everything from seven-figure supercars and historic Ferrari collections to unusual aircraft adventures and extraordinary automotive discoveries from around the world. Ben has also gained first-hand insight into vehicle craftsmanship and customization, including visiting specialist workshops to see bespoke vehicles up close.
