Elon Musk says Chinese rival work “hardest, smartest”

• Elon Musk predicts that China will be Tesla’s biggest rival in the electric vehicle market.
• In 2022, China will account for nearly two-thirds of all sales of electric vehicles worldwide.
• Tesla just appointed its China head Tom Zhu to oversee US and European plants and sales.

Detroit? Nope. No, Germany. Elon Musk believes that China, where the company he predicts will “most certainly be second” in the electric vehicle market, will be Tesla’s biggest rival.

China is the second-largest market for Tesla Inc.; in 2022, it will account for nearly two-thirds of all sales of electric vehicles worldwide. It is also where Tesla’s main plant is located.

Additionally, the market has welcomed electric vehicles and is crowded with competitors who compete on both price and style, such as Xpeng, Nio, and BYD Co Ltd.

When announcing its financial results on Wednesday, Tesla claimed that they demonstrated how recent significant price cuts had boosted demand and that the business is reducing costs in order to continue growing despite what Musk anticipates will be a recession this year.

When asked about Tesla’s rivals, Musk said he respected Chinese automakers and referred to the country as the most competitive market in the entire world. Musk made no specific mention of any Chinese automakers.

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“They work the hardest and they work the smartest,” he said. “And so we guess, there is probably some company out of China as the most likely to be second to Tesla.”

According to Reuters, Tesla just appointed its China head Tom Zhu to oversee its North American and European plants and sales.

“Our team is winning in China. And think we actually are able to attract the best talent in China. So hopefully that continues.”

Following price reductions in China due to increased competition and waning demand, Tesla also made price cuts in the US and other markets.

Musk has previously lauded Chinese employees and rivals.

He referred to Chinese automakers as the “most competitive in the world” in 2021 and noted that some of them excel at software. Additionally, he claimed that Chinese employees had been “burning the 3 a.m. oil” to keep Tesla’s factory open during Covid lockdowns the previous year.

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