Elon Musk stressed that Tesla is currently “winning in China” while claiming that a Chinese automobile maker is likely to be its closest rival.
In the Chinese market for electric vehicles, Tesla has competition from a number of start-up companies like Nio, Xpeng, and Li Auto.
The automaker BYD, which is supported by Warren Buffett, is currently Tesla’s main competition in China. When plug-in hybrids are included, BYD sold a total of 1.8 million vehicles last year, including 911,140 battery electric vehicles. In total, 1.31 million Tesla vehicles were delivered in 2022.
On Tesla’s earnings call on Wednesday, Musk responded to a question about the competition for electric vehicles by stating the business is “excited up about the future and, well, it’s going to be wonderful.
“We have a lot of respect for the car companies in China. They are the most competitive in the world … they work the hardest and they work the smartest … so lots of respect for the China car companies that we’re competing against,” Musk said on the Tesla earnings call on Wednesday.
“And so, if I were to guess … probably some company out of China is the most likely to be second to Tesla,” Musk said.
