Conversation

If Tesla means EVs in the U.S., in China, BYD does the same. Initially a maker of phone batteries, BYD released its first electric car in 2009. When asked about BYD in an interview two years later, Elon Musk flat-out laughed at the company, saying, “I don’t think they have a great product.” And yet in Q4 2023, BYD surpassed Tesla to become the biggest EV seller in the world. BYD has reportedly about 90,000 employees in just their R&D division, compared with Tesla’s 128,000 employees total.