A Comparison of Elite Media and Netizens' Comments on BYD – How Significant Are the Differences? - Video

In recent times, there has been a milestone news in the Chinese electric vehicle industry – BYD surpassing Tesla to become the global leader in electric vehicle (both pure electric and hybrid) sales for the year 2023.

Since electric vehicle sales data is released monthly, while the domestic industry in China anticipated this development, overseas opinions erupted with headlines from renowned sources like Financial Times, Reuters, and CNN.

Elon Musk, at the heart of the incident, responded promptly by sharing a netizen's comparison essay between BYD and Tesla. In his comment, Musk remarked, "Tesla is an AI robotics company, not just an ordinary car company like many others."

Musk's statement holds some truth; Tesla's stock rose by 101% in 2023, driven primarily by artificial intelligence, whereas BYD's stock, burdened by the A-share market, simultaneously fell by 22.6%.

Going back a year or two, the domestic Chinese media once held a strong belief in foreign car manufacturers. There were those who firmly believed that BBA (Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi) and traditional car manufacturers were simply unwilling to produce electric vehicles. When they decided to, it was assumed they could easily outperform domestic electric vehicles.

The reality is evident now, with the "China's New Energy Vehicle Threat" becoming the mainstream global viewpoint.