Tesla's greatest rival. Elon Musk now

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In the world of Tesla there are currently three letters that prepare sleepless nights to investors: BYD. This company is the competitor who, in China, the largest car market in the world, gains market shares at a rapid pace - with the exception of the United States, where there are continuing trade restrictions for Chinese imports.

successful figures from BYD

On Monday, BYD reported on sales of $ 107 billion for 2024-the first time that the brand exceeds the 100 billion dollar brand and thus exceeds Tesla's annual turnover by about $ 10 billion. This impressive result came only a week after BYD a Ladesystem revealed Latest electric vehicle model 250 miles should enable after only five minutes of loading time.

rising share prices and competitive pressure

The BYD's shares, which are noted on the stock exchange in Hong Kong, have already increased by more than 50 % this year. The impressive news from China should be for Teslas CEO Elon Musk, which once The idea of ​​a competition with byd , All the more a satisfaction. Musk is currently a rather unpopular member of the Trump administration.

byd's great moment collapses with a crisis at Tesla. Tesla investors have been selling their shares for nine weeks in a row, mainly from good old business reasons , including:

  • The global sales figures Last year sank for the first time, and this year also does not look much better.
  • Competitors reduce Teslas market share, especially in China.
  • Tesla's core products have not experienced any significant updates for years, and the long -announced inexpensive model is still pending.
  • Although Tesla is a pioneer in electric vehicles, lags behind Google's waymo Autonomous driving afterwards.

The effects of Elon Musk

But these are by no means the only reasons. Musk's commitment as a Trump confidant has transformed the Tesla brand into a symbol of American rights-once a favorite among aspiring, progressive buyers. The prices for used Teslas Sinks , while interest in used electric vehicles increases.

The reaction of the White House to these developments consisted of a number of actions-including a live broadcast of a presidential expression on the lawn of the White House, the Minister of Commerce, which promotes Fox News for Tesla shares and the FBI, which threatened vandals with allegations of terrorism-all smell of despair. (You are also so outside the legal convention that ethics experts have difficulties to follow.)

share decline and market analysis

The Tesla shares started to rise on Friday after Musk called a meeting with all employees in which he asked them to keep their shares. Individual investors flocked into the market and helped the shares, 5% on Friday and 12% on Monday. Nevertheless, the course is still more than 40 % below the record high of December, and several analysts have corrected their expectations for the year.

BYD is not the only Chinese competitor who reduces Tesla's market share. In Europe, Tesla sales fell by 44 % in February, while the sales figures of Chinese brands rose by 82 %, according to a report by Jato.

Part of this decline is related to the renewal of Tesla's bestseller model Y, according to Jato-Analyst Felipe Munoz. But Musk's support for a far right German party, which is accused, Not contributed to improvement - the sales figures in Germany, the largest car market in Europe, fell by 75 %last month.

BYD as a serious rival

The perhaps the biggest threat, which BYD represents Tesla, is the ability to produce a variety of elegant, technologically advanced cars-both electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids-to a fraction of the costs. The BYD entry -level model now costs less than $ 10,000 in China. Teslas Model 3, the cheapest model, costs three times as much with $ 32,000.

On Monday, BYD launched a new electrolimousine that has roughly the same specifications as the Tesla Model 3, but at half price, such as Elektrek reported . The new Qin L EV is equipped with the intelligent driving technology of BYD and offers a range of over 330 miles, starting at $ 16,500.

According to reports, Tesla is working on a smaller, cheaper version of his Model Y in order to regain some ground in China. However, mass production is supposed to be the first sources according to begin only 2026 .

conclusion: Tesla's challenges from BYD

In summary, it can be said: Musk has significantly underestimated what "Build Your Dreams" stands in 2011 when he has already seen a question of a Bloomberg interviewer about the threat of the Chinese car manufacturer with the words "Have you already seen your car?" rhetorically abate. More than a decade later, BYD Tesla overtaken in annual sales and turned the global market for electric vehicles upside down. Tesla remains the best-selling manufacturer of electric vehicles in the USA thanks to the customs tariffs that aim to protect US production. In the absence of this commercial barrier, BYD could quickly become Musk's worst nightmare.